I see colour, I don't hear the noise
by kickangel
Summary: An ordinary love story between two girls with extraordinary senses. BRITTANA. AU. Most of the other glee club members will play a part in this story as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee or the various other songs/films/tv-shows that may be mentioned in this fic, they are just being used for non-profit for my nerdy amusement.

Much thanks to **Ginger-bread88** for all the hand-holding and encouragement she has given me through the many months I have been agonizing with this story. If anyone actually likes this you have her to thank for it. Likewise if you hate it, it is also her fault! :p

Also please bare in mind that any science mentioned in this is woefully exaggerated and mostly inaccurate. I did research into the more feasible conditions that are very real but some of the symptoms, treatments and causes have been altered to fit this fic. I'm really sorry if this offends anyone but I never intended for this to be a science paper, but rather a piece of fiction for entertainment purposes.

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 1: Santana<strong>

"**Man being in that frat better be worth it with all the shit they are putting me through."**

"**Gotta pass this test or I'll never graduate, never get a good job, never marry and have the perfect family!" **

"**Jason is so cute! I wanna have his babies! Rebecca Marin sounds so perfect!"**

**"Dat ass! You could bounce coins off that ass!"**

"_Ugh, disgusting! Then they wonder why I am gay! Women may be crazy but at least they usually aren't disgusting."_ Santana didn't even get a chance to finish that thought when she walked passed a female co-ed who just leered at her and thought about how she would love to bend her over a table. _"Scratch that! Women can be just as gross! This is why I am single!" _ She shivered in disgust and turned up her iPod hoping that the voice of Etta James would just drown out the thoughts of everyone around her. She was in the middle of an experiment and had to get back to the lab quickly if she didn't want her data to be useless. She didn't have time to be distracted by all the insignificant undergrads.

"Santana! Santana! SAN!" Santana jumped as an out of breath Tina popped up in front of her. She was trying so hard to block out the mindless chatter that she didn't realise that someone was talking to her, like out loud.

"Oh sorry Serine, I was distracted. I really need to get back to the lab. I'm in the middle of a pretty time sensitive experiment." Santana answered her friend.

"**Always lost in her thoughts. All she ever thinks about is her degree and experiments." **"That's ok this won't take long. This Saturday Mike is having a party for his birthday. You have to come!" Tina told her excitedly.

"Erm, I'm not sure what my schedule is like. I might have some time booked on the microscope." Santana tried to excuse herself.

"Oh I already checked! You aren't booked in this weekend." Tina replied gleefully. **"Glad I checked that out before running into her!"**

Santana started mumbling trying to think of an excuse not to go when she heard Tina think **"You would think she doesn't like me or something. Oh my God! Is that it!? Does she really not like me!? I thought this would be better than high school! I thought I left that stuttering lonely girl behind and started over here where nobody knew me!"**

The mention of high school had Santana cringing. She didn't actually meet Tina until college and by the time they got into grad school together she actually considered her one of her very few friends. But she could have easily been one of Tina's high school tormentors. She wasn't much better back at McKinley with Quinn. Just like Tina she was trying to reinvent herself in college and shed the mean girl shell. She took a deep breath to steady herself and resigned herself to suffering through a night out surrounded by drunken idiots.

"Fine, I'll come." She huffed out, cutting Tina's inner ramblings short. "But consider this repayment for that tutorial session in inorganic chemistry from last month!" She may be trying to change and be nicer but she didn't want to come off as a push over or a softy. The inner bitch still lived!

Tina gave her a blinding smile, not buying the tough act for a second and gave her a hug. "You promise?" Santana nodded. "Great! I'll email you the details, it will be awesome! A real mixture of people. Us science geeks and Mike's artsy fartsy friends."

"Sounds interesting." Santana drawled while rolling her eyes. "Well I really need to get back to the lab. Catch you later Serine."

"You'll love it I promise!" Tina shouted after her while she waved her off.

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><p>Friday night Santana got into her apartment late as usual. The only reason she even left the lab was because one of her professors happened to see her and shooed her away. <strong>"You'd think she is trying to find a cure to save her own life with the amount of time and effort she is putting into this project. I don't know if it is admirable or just sad. She really needs to get a life outside these labs! She will be putting me out of a job as soon as she graduates at the rate she is going."<strong>

Since the last thing Santana wanted was pity, especially from a stuffy old professor whose job she would definitely take over the first chance she gets, she packed up her stuff and trudged home to her cosy studio apartment for the weekend.

She made herself a cup of tea while she waited for her laptop to boot up. She might as well catch up on some of her shows in her Netflix queue since she was banished from the labs for the weekend. As soon as her laptop connected to the internet she got an email notification and a message on Skype.

She was pretty sure the Skype message would be from her parents or Quinn and they could wait. They were used to it from her. The email could be important though. It could be a breakthrough notification from one of the many science sites and journals she subscribes to.

She groaned out loud when she saw what the email actually was. "Details of the party. You better be there! You promised!" Ugh, she had totally forgotten about that. She really didn't want to go but she also didn't want to let down her friend. She could probably count on one hand how many true friends she had and Tina was good people. Her goofball dancer boyfriend wasn't too bad ether.

Resigning herself to at least putting in a short appearance tomorrow night she checked her Skype message and laughed. It was from Quinn, in her usual Quinn fashion, basically calling her out for disappearing for two weeks and not replying to any of the many methods of contact she had attempted. Checking her contact list she saw Quinn was online and quickly called her.

"Bitch, I could die and you wouldn't even know anything about it for a month!" Quinn's voice filled the small apartment from the laptop speakers as her face filled the screen.

Santana laughed and Quinn just arched her eyebrow. "Q, there isn't much I can do for you from New York if something happened to you in Boston."

"You could mourn me if I died! Not wait until after my funeral to surface and realise it is too late to say you love me or even a goodbye at least!" was Quinn's snarky reply.

Santana just rolled her eyes at her best friend's melodrama. She decided to change the subject or this could go on all night. "So what's new with you then? Anything to report?"

"I want a child Santana!" Santana nearly chocked on her sip of tea at that.

"I guess your placement at that school has been going well then? Does Puck know about this?"

"God no! I don't actually want to get pregnant right now and if I told that Neanderthal anything like that he wouldn't let me rest until he knocked me up. But they are just so cute and adorable! Especially with them going home at the end of the day and me still having the freedom to live my life." Quinn smirked into the camera.

"So have you finally decided this is the age you wanna focus on?" Santana asked. They have had this conversation quite a few times already but Quinn just can't seem to decide which age group she wants to focus on for her Education degree.

"Nooo" she drags the word out in such a whiny way that Santana doesn't know if she should laugh at her or seriously feel sorry for her. "On the one hand the young kindergartners are so cute and impressionable and they come up with the most adorable things. On the other, high schoolers have so many issues and some of them really need some guidance. I mean how different could it have been for us if we had teachers we felt we connected with and could actually talk to about our problems as opposed to people like Sue who just screamed at us through bull-horns and made our seemingly shitty lives seem even harder and terrible." Quinn continued.

Santana doesn't completely disagree. It might have been easier to discuss her questioning her sexuality with a trustworthy, understanding teacher. But her other issue…

Quinn read the look on Santana's face and her voice softened. "I know you were going through some extraordinary circumstances and I'm glad you finally confided in me at least. But I don't know how much I actually helped. Maybe it could have been better if there was an adult you could trust."

Santana sighed. "Q, don't be an idiot. You helped me plenty. You made sure I kept my sanity. And we may not have been the nicest people in high school but we survived it. And that was mainly down to you."

"Well I am glad I could help even a little bit." Quinn mumbled. "Anyway, what's new with you? I'm shocked you aren't spending the weekend in the lab again." Quinn teased, deftly changing the subject to hopefully something lighter. As long as they didn't get into why Santana was so dedicated they should be alright.

"My professor saw me and banished me for the weekend. I'm actually invited to a party tomorrow." Santana tried for nonchalance, as if she is forever going out partying like her old high school persona.

"You're going." Quinn stated. Not allowing any room for dispute.

"When did you become ruler of my life?" Santana snapped back. The fact that she had already decided to go was irrelevant. Not even Quinn got to dictate what she did. Not anymore. Her life was finally her own.

"I'm not trying to control your life. You know I would never do that. I just think you need to have some fun every once in a while. Live a little." Quinn replied softly.

"I don't know how to live." Santana almost whispered. "This project is my life. And Marco may be better now but you never know."

"I never said you had to go out and be reckless. Just relax a bit and have some fun." Quinn tried to explain.

"I already agreed to go anyway." Santana sighed resignedly.

"Why the hell are we even arguing about this then bitch!?" Quinn asked irritated.

"Because if we didn't argue then how would we communicate?!" Santana answered in a mock serious tone.

"This is true. We are pretty dysfunctional." Quinn conceded.

"And to think you want to help mold the minds of the future." Santana snarked.

"Bitch!" Quinn gasped pretending to be offended.

"Whore!" Santana retorted without missing a beat.

"Love you." Was Quinn's more sincere comeback.

"Love you more." Santana replied.

"Don't go so long ignoring me again. I worry you know." Quinn admonished softly.

"Yeah, yeah. You do know I'm not the one who is sick right?" Santana questioned.

"You don't need to have a physical ailment for me to worry."

"I know. I'll try ok? But I'm not making any promises 'cause you know I hate to break them." Santana smirked.

"Fine at least try and have some fun tomorrow night. You are allowed to live your life. And you know the occasional drink helps mute the noise for a while."

"I don't really like drinking when you aren't around." Santana confessed quietly. "It may mute the sounds but it can amplify the feelings sometimes. You know how I hate to let the waterworks start."

"Yeah I know. I'm sorry I can't be there. But still try and have some fun."

"I will. The people I know are pretty cool at least. So I shouldn't be a complete loser loner all night."

Quinn just laughed. "Can you imagine your teenaged self hearing you say that? She would kick your ass! Anyway, goodnight San and let me know how it goes tomorrow."

"Yeah goodnight. If anything interesting happens I will report back but don't hold your breath."

Santana singed off from Skype and snuggled under the covers on her bed, queuing up the episode of 'Lost Girl' she had yet to see.

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><p>Santana stood in front of her full length mirror giving herself a once over now that her ensemble was complete. OK so maybe her choices of biker boots, skinny jeans, button-up with a tight waist coat and a fedora were a bit gay but she knew she looked good. She was debating if looking this good was worth all the lewd and crude thoughts she would have to block out at the party but she decided <em>"If I'm going I might as well try my best to have a good time and these clothes make me feel good. Maybe I'll have just the one drink to hopefully block out the most of it if I have to."<em>

She grabbed her keys from the table by the door and headed out to the address Tina had sent her. It turned out the address was to a dance studio, the colourful 'RAINBOW FUSION' sign bright above the door. Santana vaguely remembers Tina mentioning Mike had opened a dance studio with a friend. _"This must be it."_ she thought and braced herself to enter the fray of the party.

The lobby was surprisingly quiet and empty. Santana noticed on the reception desk a bunch of arrows pointing in all different directions. Upon closer inspection she saw that each arrow had a room number and description on it. 1A – Lounge Room, 1B – Karaoke Room, 1C- Bar, 2A – RnB Room, 2B – Disco Room, 2C – Bar.

Taking a deep breath she tried to open her mind and see if she could hear Tina. If she knew which room she was in at least it would make finding her a lot easier. She was hit with a tidal wave of voices and noise. Hoping she didn't end up with a headache by the end of this she tried again to focus on Tina's voice. Knowing her so well she should be able to distinguish it. First she managed to filter and block out all the male voices. Once that was done she tried to bring up Tina's voice in her mind and focus on if she could hear it. Amongst the many babbling thoughts she kept hearing one distinct voice spouting the most random things **"Clear."** **"Ohh Pink! Disco has the funnest colours!" **and **"You show 'em Monkey!" **_"Wow whoever that is she must be really wasted!" _Santana muttered to herself and shook her head trying to find Tina again. Finally she heard **"I hope we have enough alcohol. At least the downstairs bar was more fully stocked last I checked."** in Tina's familiar voice.

Satisfied that she finally had a starting point to find her friend, Santana followed the direction the arrow for the bar in 2C was pointing and headed up the stairs. Thankfully, when she got to the right room it wasn't too crowded and she managed to spot Tina easily.

Tina noticed her just as she was approaching her and she gave her a blinding smile. "Santana! You made it!" **"I can't believe she actually showed up!" **

"Thought I was gonna bail didn't ya?" Santana replied with a smirk. "A promise is a promise and I don't go back on my promises."

"I'm so glad you came!" Tina exclaimed. "We are gonna have so much fun! Let's go find Mike and I will introduce you to some of our friends."

Shrugging, Santana followed Tina into the Disco Room in search of Mike. It was his birthday after all. They found him, as expected, in the middle of the dance floor and they made a bee line for him.

Tina wrapped her arms around him from behind, avoiding his flailing hands to whatever dance move he was doing, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He turned around quickly and gracefully, like only a dancer can, and swooped her into his arms spinning her around to the music. Tina broke into a fit of giggles and shrieked at him to put her down. **"God I love this big goofball."** she thought. That brought a warm smile to Santana's face.

"Mike, Santana is here!" Tina exclaimed happily once he put her down, pointing to the girl standing to the side smiling at them.

"Hey!" Mike acknowledged excitedly leaning in to wrap Santana in a hug. "Thanks for coming." He said as he was leaning back from the hug.

"Happy Birthday! Thanks for inviting me." She smiled back at him.

"Where is everybody? I wanted to introduce Santana to them." Tina asked.

"The divas are most likely in the Karaoke Room, where else would they be, and Britt could be anywhere! You never know where she will pop up!" Mike replied with an eye roll.

"Well we might as well start with the Karaoke Room. Britt will surface at some point." Tina said grabbing Mike and Santana's hands and dragging them to the stairs.

As they were going down the stairs Santana heard the same voice from earlier **"Yellow!"** and she thought she heard raindrops as well even though the sky was clear of clouds when she had arrived. _"Weird."_ Santana thought shaking her head and following the others into the Karaoke Room.

There were more people in here than the upstairs bar but not as many as the Disco Room. The small stage seemed to be surrounded while a small brunette was belting out a Celine Dion song. "Wow" Santana gasped as the girl on stage nailed a high note and held it for what seemed like forever.

She heard Tina and Mike chuckling next to her and it broke her from her reverie. "Yeah, that's Rachel Berry. Head Diva." Tina said and Mike laughed again. "She is a bit high maintenance but she is good people once you get over the motormouth and sift through the backhanded compliments." Mike added.

"_And she is pretty hot." _Santana thought, but didn't voice. She just nodded.

"The super-stylish, super-gay guy going through the song book is Kurt and with him is Mercedes. Come on let me introduce you properly." Tina said as she dragged Santana along by the hand again.

As they were walking towards them Rachel finished her song and Santana heard her think **"Nailed it! As usual! Even in this fun and seemingly unimportant setting my vocals were perfect and far superior to everyone so far." **

"_Wow," _Santana thought _"I get the Diva moniker now!"_

"Hey guys!" Tina said to the duo as they reached them interrupting their bickering. "This is my friend from college I was telling you about. Santana meet Kurt and Mercedes."

"Hey" Santana said giving a shy wave and smile.

"Ah the elusive Santana." Mercedes teased. "Nice to finally meet you. We were starting to think you were a myth!"

Kurt just waved and turned to Tina "You never said she was so stylish!" he said accusingly.

Tina laughed and replied "Well I usually just see her in jeans and a t-shirt or hoodie, but yes she is very stylish and much more than that. She was top of our undergrad class and is kicking the graduate class's ass as well."

Santana blushed and looked to the floor. "Damn Serine! Make me seem more like a dork why don't you." Santana mumbled.

The group just stared blankly at Santana while Tina laughed again. "Serine?" Kurt asked eventually making Santana blush deeper and Tina laugh harder.

"You don't need me to make you seem nerdy, you do that all on your own." Tina smirked at Santana while she glared back. Turning to her friends she explained "She calls me that because my initials TCC are the DNA codon for the amino acid Serine."

They all just kept staring blankly for a few more second before Mercedes remarked "Yeah, girl, sorry but that is pretty damn nerdy even without Tina praising your academic achievements." and they all burst out laughing.

Santana tried to maintain a scowl but looking at their faces she could feel that it was all in good fun. Like a good natured ribbing from friends and she eventually couldn't contain her grin. _"Ok so they seem pretty alright." _She thought to herself.

Just as they were all calming down from their laughter Rachel finally joined them after soaking up all the applause from her adoring audience.

"Who's this?" Rachel asked. **"She better not be an aspiring Broadway actress!" **she thought. Santana was seriously tempted to pretend she was just to see Rachel's reaction but decided she couldn't be bothered. And besides she wasn't sure just how deep her crazy ran.

Tina introduced them and Rachel looked at her skeptically for a second. "Do you sing?" Rachel demanded bluntly. Kurt slapped her arm while the others all admonished her.

"What? It was just a question!" Rachel shrieked rubbing her arm.

"Then how did you manage to make it sound like an accusation?" Kurt chastised her. Rachel just shrugged.

"Not really." Santana replied when they settled down.

"You have a lovely voice." Tina complemented her. "I've heard you when you sing along to your iPod in the lab."

"That's nothing." Santana hastened to defend herself. "I'm not that good." She insisted.

"Well now we must hear you!" Kurt enthused.

"**No way will she be better than me!" **Rachel thought.

"You don't seem like the type of person to back down from a challenge." Mercedes smirked. "So I challenge you to sing."

"That's playing dirty!" Santana accused. "We are gonna get along just fine." She then added to the laughter of the group.

As she was flipping through the song book to find a song she could sing she heard the voice again **"A rainbow! Who's that!?" **It sounded closer and she looked around but couldn't tell who it was coming from so she focused back on the folder.

Picking her song she took her place on the stage. Just as the opening notes of Amy Winehouse's 'Valerie' begun she heard the voice think **"Oh I love all the purples in this song!"** Santana was completely confused by that comment and almost lost when she was supposed to come into the song but she snapped out of it just in time.

She nailed it just like she knew she could and left the stage to uproarious applause in order to join her group. Everyone was congratulating and complementing her and she even picked out a grudging **"She does have a really lovely tone."** In Rachel's thoughts, despite her comments about teaching her about better breathing techniques.

As Santana was enjoying the attention from her new friends she heard the voice again **"She is the brightest rainbow I have ever seen!" **and she looked up directly into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. She got lost in those deep pools of blue and all sounds fell away from her. The only thing she heard was in her mind _**"So pretty." **_and she couldn't even be sure if it was her own thought or the beautiful blonde's in front of her.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you everyone for your reviews/favorites/alerts. Disclaimers, warnings and acknowledgements as before.

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 2: Brittany<strong>

Brittany was just finishing off a new routine she was practicing in an empty rehearsal room. She was thinking of teaching it to her advanced hip hop class next month. She watched the last few waves of pink and blue swirl and glide through the air as the song finally faded out. The different colours always helped inspire her when she was working on new dances. That's what she attributed her success as a choreographer to. Even if nobody actually understood what she meant when she said that.

As she felt the sweat rolling down her back she heard rain drops in her mind and wiping her face with the towel she always kept handy, the fluffy fabric gliding against her flushed face and absorbing the sweat, the sound of rustling leaves filled her head. The big gulps of cold water she took made the word 'clear' flash in front of her eyes.

She's not sure if it's this mixture of senses that makes her seem so different and sometimes weird to others. She knows that's how most people see her. Or if her brain really is just wired so differently that there is something seriously wrong with her and she doesn't even know it. She tries not to dwell on things like that. She considers the colours and sounds and words a blessing even if others don't understand her. They are what make her life so magical.

She has a good life. She knows that. Good friends and a family that loves her even if they didn't always understand her and sometimes underestimated her. She has proven them wrong now though, to their infinite delight. They were worried she wouldn't even finish high school, yet she did and made it into a prestigious dance company in New York. Now she part owns a successful dance studio and choreographs the occasional music video or off-Broadway show. She could probably still star in music videos and go on tour with world-class artists. But after five gruelling years with the company she was feeling burnt out. Worried that she would lose her love of dance and performing she decided to strike out into the world alone and see what else was out there for her.

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><p>Her parents were terrified for her when she informed them she was quitting the company. She refused to return back home and insisted she could stay in the city. She had been there for five years already she argued. They countered that her living in a dormitory provided by the dance company was not at all the same thing. But Brittany was determined. She looked into finding an apartment before she quit the company but quickly realised that even though she made good money and had decent savings she didn't want to blow it all just on a place to live. Especially when she had no idea when her next paying job would be.<p>

So she started going through the 'roommate wanted' listings. She will admit that had been a bit daunting and after one too many run-ins with weirdos she was almost ready to give up. But the last place she had on her list was just too tempting not to check out. When she was reading the listing she kept getting shots of all her favourite foods in her mouth, marshmallows and cotton candy and fondue. You would think she would be used to these random senses firing in tandem but this was an unusual combination. It was usually the other way around; taste would bring up words not words associated with taste. So she just had to check it out.

With a bit of trepidation she knocked on the door. She didn't have to wait long for a reply, the door swung open almost automatically and she was confronted with two exaggeratedly smiling faces. A bright gold light surrounded the short brunette girl while a clear aquamarine surrounded the stylish boy.

"You must be Brittany." The short girl with the big nose said reaching out her hand to shake Brittany's. "I'm Rachel Berry and this is Kurt Hummel."

As soon as Brittany touched Rachel's hand her head filled with the sound of songbirds chirping melodiously. When she turned slightly and took Kurt's hand she was sure what she was hearing was the rapid beating of hummingbird wings. She likes birds. All animals really. So she tends to trust people whose touch is associated with animal sounds. _"This is looking promising"_ Brittany thought as she was ushered into the apartment.

Once they passed through the short hallway they entered a cosy living room. Brittany noticed another girl, surrounded by a warm orange, lounging on the sofa.

"That's Mercedes." Kurt supplied.

"She doesn't actually live here even though sometimes it may feel like she does." Rachel added.

"Nice." Mercedes drawled sarcastically. "I know when I am not wanted. I'll just go then." She said getting up to prepare to leave. "Good luck if you end up rooming with these two." Mercedes stated sassily as she waved goodbye and headed for the door.

"Don't mind her." Rachel rushed to explain. "She is just in a mood 'cause we wouldn't let her move in with us. But as we explained, a house with three divas simply would not survive."

"Rachel!" Kurt admonished.

"What!?" Rachel questioned.

"We weren't supposed to bring up the whole divas thing right away so we wouldn't scare her off!" Kurt stage whispered to Rachel.

Brittany just followed the exchange with an amused look on her face. Normal people bored her. These people may not see the world exactly like she does but they still had a different view to the conventional one. Life should be lived and enjoyed to the fullest. Follow your dreams and be yourself. That was always Brittany's philosophy. And even with having only just met them she knew they would agree. She could just tell by how bright their auras were. They were special.

"I really don't want to cause trouble between friends." Brittany spoke up hesitantly, breaking up the bickering between the pair.

"Oh don't worry!" Kurt assured her. "I don't think she even really wanted to move in. She would probably kill Rachel in her sleep within the first week."

"Hey!" Rachel complained.

Kurt just ignored her continuing on. "She actually has a pretty good place with another friend of ours. She just likes to complain about Tina's boyfriend, who is an absolute sweetheart by the way, because she doesn't have one of her own. So you are completely in the clear if you are interested. Want the rest of the tour?"

"Sure." Brittany replied cheerfully giving them a relieved smile.

"The kitchen isn't very big but neither of us really cooks so we don't mind. Unfortunately, there is only the one bathroom to share which can be a pain but we can work out a schedule so everyone has time to use it. This would be your bedroom. I know it seems a bit small but I assure you they are all pretty much the same size." Kurt rambled on as he showed Brittany around the cosy little three-bedroom apartment. They made their way back to the living room where they all took a seat to talk things over.

"So what do you think?" Rachel asked prompting Brittany to look around the room again. She was distracted by Mercedes earlier and didn't pay much attention to her surroundings. There was an upright piano tucked into the corner and the bookshelves surrounding their entertainment system were filled with playbills, musicals, sheet music and biographies.

Noticing her looking around Rachel hastened to explain. "We are aspiring Broadway actors. We both graduated from NYADA last year and though our big break hasn't quite happened yet we aren't giving up. Our menial day jobs will not hold us back. Every free minute we have is dedicated to perfecting our craft and preparing for auditions."

"I work in a boutique which at least provides me with decent enough discounts to remain looking fabulous." Kurt said with a wave of his hand for added flair. "While Rachel works as a singing waitress in a '70s dinner. And not every waking minute is dedicated to rehearsals. We have fun as well. It just so happens our fun tends to include a lot of singing and dancing and acting out scenes from our favourite musicals."

Brittany knew she would be right about these two. Definitely not the expected normal. _"I think I could fit in nicely here. I hope they like me as well."_ She thought to herself.

"I love to sing and dance!" Brittany enthused. "I'm not that good a singer but I'm an ok dancer. I don't mind the room size since I'm used to living in a dorm and I can pay my share of the rent for my first month upfront, even though I probably won't be able to leave the company for another two weeks. But I could start moving things in slowly."

"You're in the CIA!?" Rachel shrieked cutting of Brittany.

Kurt just looked at Rachel with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Really Rachel?" he muttered.

"Erm. No. I mean the American Modern Dance Company." Brittany mumbled looking confused.

"Oh I'm sorry. I just have a really active imagination." Rachel said embarrassedly.

Then all of a sudden, as if a light bulb went off in their heads, the words Brittany had spoken registered and a loud "WHAT!?" reverberated through the room from the two friends.

"Is that a bad thing?" Brittany stuttered hesitantly. "I mean, I'm quitting if that makes it any better. I'm gonna give my two weeks notice as soon as I know I will have a place to stay once I leave the dorms. That's why I can't move in right away. Doesn't matter, I guess I better keep looking. Well thanks for your time. It was really nice to meet you both. Good luck in your careers." Brittany rambled disappointedly while gathering her things to leave. She had no idea how she had managed to blow this. It all seemed to be going so well.

A loud "WAIT!" startled her just as she was about to open the door to leave the apartment and she froze with her hand on the door handle. Rachel and Kurt rushed up to her and pulled her away from the door.

"We just didn't expect you to be a part of AMDC…"

"…what with you saying you are just an OK dancer…"

"…I mean that is a very prestigious company. You must be really talented…"

"And it's important to surround yourself with talented people."

"…and you do remember the whole 'we are divas' part. We have to make a big scene out of everything and make it all dramatic."

Kurt and Rachel rambled finishing each other's sentences trying to explain their reaction.

Brittany gave them a tentative smile. "Oh. OK then." She mumbled as they sat her back into her original seat.

"So why on earth would you want to quit AMDC?" Rachel asked with wide eyes. Kurt looked at Brittany expectantly as well, obviously curious as to her answer.

"I just feel like I am burning out. I have been with them for five years now and even though I have learnt a lot and put on some amazing shows with them, I am just so tired of the constant competition and total control they have over my life. I want it to feel like it's my own again. I just want to have fun and feel like I am living my life to the fullest on my own terms. I need to re-find my dreams." Brittany finished her impassioned speech and a sudden blush bloomed on her cheeks when she noticed the looks on Rachel and Kurt's faces. "Sorry. I guess I haven't really had the chance to talk to anyone about how I feel in a while. My parents were so stunned that AMDC even wanted me that they can't understand why I would ever want to leave. To be honest I think they are scared I can't make it on my own. But I'm not as fragile as they think!" Brittany blushed again and mumbled another quiet "Sorry."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it" Kurt reassured her. "We did ask after all and it must be very hard not having anyone to talk to. We talk about everything. Sometimes overtalk." He finished with a chuckle.

"Yes." Rachel agreed. "I mean as someone who thrives on competition and a rigid schedule I can't really see the problem with AMDC." Kurt slapped her arm at that. Rachel glared at him and continued. "However! I can't imagine what it must feel like to slowly lose your passion for the thing you are destined to do. And to not have anyone to talk to on top of that!"

"Thanks you guys." Brittany smiled at them shyly. "I could tell just from your colours and touch-sounds that you would be great people and we would really get along." She continued more excitedly.

The other two just observed her with a mild look of confusion on their faces. Brittany didn't really pay much attention to it. She was used to being looked at like that. No one ever really understood. Snapping out of it Kurt asked "So are you still interested? Can we finally take down the listing and stop having to interview crazy people?"

Brittany smiled at the implication that she wasn't considered a crazy person. "Sure! I'm in if you are!" She said gleefully.

* * *

><p>By the end of the month Brittany was moved in and had resigned from AMDC. The new roommates decided that a housewarming party was in order. They figured it would be the easiest way for them to meet each other's friends.<p>

Most of the people there were Kurt and Rachel's friends. Only a few people from AMDC showed up. Brittany wasn't at all surprised. She suspected that the ones that did show up were mainly interested in gossip as to how one of the company's star dancers ended up in a cramped three-bedroom apartment without a job. They probably wanted to make sure that she was really gone as well so that there would be one less star to compete with. Brittany never really got along with anyone at AMDC, the competitive atmosphere not really ideal to cultivate lasting friendships. Add to that Brittany's undeniable talent and kooky nature, very few people even tried to approach her. She thinks that is another reason she wanted to leave. Brittany is a social and cheerful person. Being so cut off from everyone in such a strict and serious environment was very difficult for her.

She was having a great time at the party. All the people she met through Kurt and Rachel seemed really nice. She really hit it off with Mercedes and her roommate Tina. As Kurt had said Mercedes wasn't really upset about the room she was just in a mood because Mike, Tina's boyfriend, was staying with them for a couple of months while he was on break from the last show he was in. As it turns out Mike was a member of the touring group of AMDC. But unlike most other company dancers he was much more laid back and friendly. He made Brittany think that had he been in New York permanently she might not have left AMDC.

Mike was having his own difficulties with the company. They had been promising him a permanent position in New York for years but they kept coming up with excuses and putting it off. He missed Tina terribly when he was on tour. Brittany and Mike spent most of the night talking about the company and what other opportunities they might have. When they weren't talking they were dancing. Thank God Tina isn't the jealous type, especially when it comes to dancing.

By the end of the night almost everyone was gone and only Mercedes, Tina and Mike were lounging about in the living room with the new roommates. Mike and Brittany, both a little bit drunk, were still rambling on about how if they were in charge of AMDC they would be much better and the environment would be friendly and they would actually live up to the "Modern" part of their name.

"You two should just do it!" Rachel drunkenly interrupted their discussion.

Brittany's eyes bugged out of her head as she stage whispered "Rachel! Tina is sitting right there!" Then she turned to Mike and said apologetically "You are super cute and really talented but I don't mess around with my friend's boyfriends and I really hope you will all be my friends. Plus I have a feeling that there is someone really special out there just waiting for me to find them."

"While that is good to know and I am sure we will all be great friends," Tina replied with a light chuckle "I think Drunky Diva meant you should just do whatever plans you have been talking about all night."

"Oh." Brittany mumbled blushing slightly. "But wait how would we take over AMDC? I already quit and we aren't really dictators. We are lovers not fighters." She finished nodding her head for extra emphasis.

Chuckling Mercedes said "You could always start your own company. You don't have to actually take over AMDC."

That seemed to sober up Mike and Brittany as they looked at each other thoughtfully.

"Maybe not right now." Brittany finally said regretfully.

"Yeah if we were to ever actually do anything like that it would have to be better thought out than a drunken whim." Mike agreed.

* * *

><p>Brittany had decided that she could afford to take at least one month off after she quit the company to re-find her dream, before she had to worry about finding a paying job. She had enough savings to not have to worry for a while but she didn't want to waste them all just in case her dream turned out to be expensive. She also decided to not dance at all for a few weeks to see how much she would miss it and if that would reignite her passion for it.<p>

She started making it a habit of going on long walks in the park. The chirping of the birds would remind her of her first meeting with Rachel and Kurt and that always brought a smile to her face. Her favourite pastime was watching the kids play at the playground and occasionally joining them. Their melodious laughter would cause sparks of colour to fire in front of her eyes. They weren't as long lasting or in so much motion as when she listened to music, but more like fireworks, bright and fast.

After the initial suspicion of the parents, who she managed to win over with her big innocent blue eyes and charming smile, Brittany had the greatest time playing make-believe with the kids. She took inspiration from her firing senses and none of the kids looked at her like she was crazy when she would tell them her roommates were birds or that 'Row row row your boat' was blue waves but 'Twinkle twinkle little star' was blue lines. She would spend hours playing with them and all the kids idolised her. The parents ended up loving her as well because for a few hours each day they could relax knowing their children were safe and having fun.

One day, about three weeks into her self-imposed dance embargo, Brittany came home from the park to the sound of Rachel singing in the shower. She dropped onto the sofa and focused on Rachel's voice and the oscillating golden and silver lines it produced. Rachel walked into the living room while still singing to find Brittany seemingly staring into space with a melancholy look. As soon as Rachel saw her she stopped singing which seemed to snap Brittany out of her daze.

"Hey." Rachel said hesitantly. "Sorry, I didn't know anyone was home. Are you OK?" she asked.

"Did you know your voice is all rich gold and shiny silver?" Brittany asked her absently.

"Erm, no I didn't. Thank you?" Rachel said with a questioning tone. "Are you sure you are alright Brittany?"

"Yeah." Brittany sighed. "I think I miss dancing. But lately, with all the time I have been spending with the kiddies at the park, I kinda wish I was smart enough to go to college and become a teacher."

"You are smart Britt! I'm sure we could find a way to help you become a teacher if that is your dream." Rachel tried to reassure her.

"Nah. In case you haven't noticed, my brain doesn't exactly work like normal. Too many words confuse my taste buds. It was bad enough trying to make it through high school." Brittany replied dejectedly.

"Well while we think about what we can do about that, I may be able to help you with your other issue. I mean I know you can literally dance to anything and at any time but if you want a little bit of structure and some time in a real studio you can always join me at my dance class. It will obviously be below your skill level so it should be easy for you to just dive right in and there is no pressure and no expectation other than to have fun." Rachel rambled out. She really did have impressive breath control.

"Sounds good." Brittany replied, her mood lifting a bit. "I think my dream will always involve dance in some way or another. The colours are just too hard to resist." She added.

* * *

><p>After only a couple of lessons the instructor took Brittany aside at the end of the class and told her he thought that her attending this class was just a waste of their time and her money.<p>

"Oh. OK." Brittany replied sadly. "I guess I'll stop wasting your time then." She said, her eyes watering, as she turned to pack up her stuff to leave.

"No wait!" You misunderstood me!" The instructor said quickly. "I meant it as a compliment. It's a shame to waste your time and money since you could practically teach this class. In fact that is what I was trying to get at. I got this great opportunity on a TV show in LA so the owner is looking for someone to take over my classes. What I was trying to say is that, if you are interested, I would like to recommend you for the position." He clarified.

"Wait, really!? You think I could actually teach dance!?" Brittany asked incredulously, a bright smile stretching across her mouth. Then her face fell. "But I don't have any experience in teaching." She finished sadly.

"Well you did spend five years with AMDC didn't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did. How did you know that?" Brittany asked sceptically.

"Rachel hasn't shut up about you since you moved in." he said with a smile causing a light blush to dust Brittany's cheeks. "I'm sure you had to come up with some choreography while you were there. Didn't you ever have to show others how to do it?"

"Well sure. I did it a few times. I was OK at it I guess." Brittany stated modestly. She had actually choreographed a few full shows throughout the years, to high praise.

"Well, I tell you what" the instructor said "I'll tell the manager about you and maybe we can teach a few classes together and you can show me some of your choreography and we will see how it goes. How does that sound?" he finished with a wide smile.

"Sounds great!" Brittany replied with a smile of her own.

* * *

><p>As expected, Brittany was a natural. Her cheerful energetic disposition and her encouraging one-on-one approach to teaching made her a fast favourite amongst the staff and students. She even got to teach a beginners class to kids between the age of five and eight. That was by far Brittany's favourite part of the job. She had managed to reignite her love for dance and be around children at the same time. Quitting the company and replying to that tasty roommate wanted ad was the best thing she ever did in her opinion.<p>

That's why Brittany was devastated when after a year of working there the owner announced he would have to close down the studio. No matter how much her friends tried to cheer her up by telling her she would find another job soon and there were plenty of other dance studios, she was inconsolable. Every time Brittany had to walk into the building and see the big 'Business for Sale' sign above the door she felt like crying. If she didn't love her students so much and wanted to spend as much time as possible with them she would just stop showing up altogether.

Just when things seemed to be getting really bad for Brittany and her friends were running out of ideas on how to cheer her up, Mike rolled into town. Apparently he had been passed over for a permanent position in New York yet again and he had had enough. So he quit, packed up his bags and appeared at Tina's doorstep upset and angry but finally relieved to be with her permanently, even if now he was technically just a homeless unemployed dancer. Tina was ecstatic to have him home and an impromptu party was organised.

Brittany dragged herself out of her self-pity for a while to try and enjoy her friends' party. Just like at the last party, she spent most of the night dancing and talking with Mike. After they completely exhausted the subject of how evil AMDC is and how much better they would be if they were in charge they moved on to Brittany's current problem, the studio closing down.

"Well at least you still have a job for a few more months. I'm unemployed" Mike told her sadly.

Tina happened to be walking by then and saw how pathetic they were both looking, like someone had kicked their puppy. Sighing she approached them and tried to make them feel better. "Cheer up guys. Things always have a way of sorting themselves out." She said optimistically. "Britt you felt lost when you first quit AMDC as well. But look at how well that turned out for you!" Tina tried to sound upbeat.

"Yeah my studio is closing down and now I am going to be back to square one. Who else is going to take a chance on me?" Brittany countered petulantly.

Tina groaned. They were really making this difficult. Then she got an idea. "Hey! Maybe it's a sign!"

"Huh?" two pairs of confused eyes focused on her.

"Yeah! Maybe it's a sign that you are both ready to do what you have been talking about ever since you met! Start your own company!"

The two of them begun uhming and ahming while they mulled it over.

"It still feels like a drunken whim." Mike finally answered. "I mean what do we really know about running a dance company?"

"Maybe not a dance company." Brittany said slowly. "But there are other things that involve dance that we can do." She continued with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Like what?" Mike asked.

"Well if I can teach dance, then so can you!" Brittany supplied starting to get excited.

"Yeah but the studio you are working for is closing down." Mike replied. Completely confused as to what Brittany was getting at.

"Well not technically. Not yet anyway. The owner has to sell the studio because he has to move out of state and he says it is just not financially viable to keep the business and pay others to take care of it. Plus he doesn't really trust others to carry on his name. But he does ideally want to sell it as a dance studio as opposed to some developer buying it and turning it into apartments and offices." Brittany explained.

"OK..." Mike said slowly. "And what does that have to do with us? You think whoever buys it will keep you on as an instructor and give me a job as well?" he asked with a bit more hope.

"You are thinking too small!" Brittany proclaimed. "Why settle for being just instructors? Why not buy the studio ourselves!?" She finished with a bright proud smile.

"That's a great idea!" Tina exclaimed.

"We still don't know anything about running a studio or owning a business." Mike replied. "Plus how could we really afford to buy it?"

"Well Jared, the owner, is really cool and he likes me. I'm sure he would help us out at the beginning and explain everything we need to know. There are already a few instructors and we will have a ready client base. We might even get a good deal from Jared if we show him how much we love dance and how serious we are about keeping it as a studio. I still have most of my savings from when I was working at AMDC." Brittany tried to reason. "Come on Monkey it will be awesome! Just like we have been talking about!"

"I was kinda keeping my savings for something special." Mike mumbled with a sideways glance at Tina.

His girlfriend noticed and rolled her eyes. "I can wait." She told him. "Hell I put up with you touring the country you think I wouldn't wait a couple more years for you to realise your dream? You have been talking about this for ages and now you have a chance at it! I have you here with me now and this could be considered an investment for our future."

"What about getting our own place?" Mike asked. "We won't last long all three of us in your tiny apartment."

"There is a small apartment attached to the studio!" Brittany provided the answer. "I don't need it. I am happy where I am."

Just as Mike was trying to think of any reason why they shouldn't go for this Mercedes ambled up to the small group. "Rainbow Britt. Asian Fusion." She greeted the trio.

Brittany burst out laughing. "We even have a name! 'Rainbow Fusion'!"

"Fine you convinced me. Let's do this thing!" Mike gave in and Tina and Brittany started to jump around and cheer.

Mercedes just observed her friends with a confused look. "OK, what did I miss?" she asked causing the three of them to just laugh harder.

* * *

><p>Ten months later and Brittany was finishing off her choreography for her advanced hip hop class in an empty rehearsal room in their co-owned dance studio.<p>

She left the room and headed up the stairs to the second floor apartment. She knocked on the door and waited patiently for an answer. She only had to wait a few seconds before her business partner opened the door and motioned her in signalling one minute to her while he wrapped up his phone call.

"Of course it's fine babe, I already told you you should invite her. I'm sure she will get along just fine with everyone. Santana isn't nearly as scary as she likes to pretend." Mike told his girlfriend with a chuckle.

At the mention of Santana's name deep red and purple sparks filed Brittany's field of view. She was pretty much used to seeing the world through a haze of colour. Any melodious sound would set her senses into overdrive. But it was the first time she had ever had it happen at just the mention of a name. It reminded her of when she got bursts of flavour from reading Kurt and Rachel's listing two years ago and that resulted in one of the best changes in her life. She made some amazing friends and ultimately realised her dream of owning a dance studio and teaching dance, even if she didn't quite know that was her dream at the time. So this new occurrence intrigued her. She didn't know who this Santana person was but she was sure whoever she was she would change her life for the better.

Mike hung up the phone and brought Brittany out of her ruminations. "Sorry we were just finalising the guest list for the party on Saturday. You're sure it's OK to use the studio? There seem to be quite a few people coming between friends and family and a number of students have RSVP'd."

"Of course!" Brittany assured him. "It's your studio as well. And it's stupid to shell out money to book a venue when we have all we need here. We will just decorate the rehearsal rooms as themed rooms like we discussed and set up the two break rooms as bars. It's been planned for ages now and I have even arranged the playlists for each room so don't go second guessing yourself now. It's going to be awesome!" Brittany said enthusiastically.

"You're right as always Britt. Thanks again for taking over the playlists." Mike said with a smile.

"No problem. We needed a bit more variety than what the songbirds were planning." Brittany said with a chuckle. "So who is this Santana person you were mentioning? Her reds and purples were pretty!" she asked.

"You've seen colours already? You haven't even met her yet!" Mike asked incredulously. Brittany just shrugged. She had tried to explain her condition to her friends. They tried to understand and got the main idea but even Brittany was surprised by it on occasion so what chance did they have of fully understanding what it was like. Mike was the most understanding. They would spend hours discussing music-colour associations and how that translated to choreography. Some of their best routines were developed through those discussions.

"She is a friend of Tina's from college. I've only met her a couple of times and she seems a bit reserved but nice all the same. And if Tina likes someone so much then by default so do I." he explained with a light laugh at the end. "She is supposed to be coming to the party so you will all probably meet her then."

"Looking forward to it." Brittany replied with a grin. "Anyway I was just coming by to see if you wanted me to lock up since I am leaving and what time you want us to show up on Saturday to help set up."

"Oh, erm, yeah you might as well lock up, I am done for the night. And most of the stuff should be delivered by Friday night. Me and Tina will put everything in their respective rooms so it will only be setting up needed. If you guys come round about 5 we should have plenty of time to prepare everything for 9. Mike explained.

"Okie dokie. I'll let everyone know." Brittany confirmed with a smile. "See you tomorrow Monkey!" She waved and went to lock up the studio before heading home.

* * *

><p>The rest of the week flew by and before she knew it it was Saturday and the usual gang was at the studio setting up for the party. They had music playing through the sound system in the whole building which pretty much kept Brittany distracted following colours most of the time so really it was the others that did most of the work. Apart from any heavy lifting, that was left to Brittany and Mike.<p>

Brittany flittered into the downstairs break room, that Tina was setting up as a bar, following a spiral of lime green. She sauntered up to Tina and gave her a shy smile. "So…" she started. Tina just chuckled knowing what Brittany wanted. Mike had already told her about Brittany's comment about Santana.

"Yes Britt?" she asked coyly.

"You know that friend of yours. Santana was it?" Brittany tried for nonchalance but Tina knew better.

"Yeah what about her?"

"So, is she like coming tonight?" Brittany finally got to the point.

"As far as I know. When she gets here I'll be sure to introduce you don't worry." Tina told her with a knowing smirk.

"Thanks!" Brittany gave her a dazzling smile, a hug and then wandered off to God knows where to do God knows what. Tina just shook her head with an affectionate chuckle as she watched her go and got back to work.

* * *

><p>A few hours later the party was in full swing. Brittany loved parties. The music, the colours the people. She was currently in the upstairs bar getting some water to cool down a bit after all the dancing. As soon as the word 'clear' that associates with water in her brain dissipated from her mind she went back to the disco room. Just as she entered the room 'Ladies Night' started playing through the speakers. <em>"Ohh pink! Disco has the funnest colours!"<em> Brittany thought excitedly as she entered the fray on the dance floor. She spotted Mike busting some classic moves and chuckled _"You show 'em Monkey!" _she thought.

After the song ended she decided to check out how things were going in the RnB Room. 'Single Ladies' by Beyonce was the current track and yellow circles expanded in front of Brittany. There were more people in this room and it was really hot. She could feel the sweat rolling down her back and the accompanying sounds of raindrops could be discerned even through the music. She only lasted a couple of songs before she decided to go in search of the rest of her friends. Not much searching was required for some of them so she decided to head straight to the Karaoke Room. She tried not to bug Tina too much about Santana but she was getting anxious to meet her. And since Mike had said she seemed reserved and wouldn't really know anyone but Tina there, Brittany figured that if she had arrived they would be together.

As she entered the room she looked around for Rachel's golden aura, it was usually one of the easiest to pick out especially in a crowd. Tina's more discreet deep blue was harder to distinguish. Before she was able to spot Rachel a bright rainbow caught her attention. She had never met anyone with a rainbow aura before. _"A rainbow! Who's that!?"_ She thought to herself as she tried to get closer to see who it belonged to. She realised the aura was moving towards the stage and she tried to manoeuvre into a position that would provide her with a clear line of sight. As she pushed through the people around the stage the opening notes to 'Valerie' begun to play and she felt her heart rate pick up in anticipation for all the deep purple swirls and waves the song evoked in her. _"I love all the purples in this song!"_ She thought, excited that whoever the aura belonged to had good taste in music.

When she finally got a good view of the stage she saw a stunning Latina owning it and performing the hell out of the song. She was completely captivated by the beautiful woman. When she was done performing Brittany followed her with her eyes as she joined the very friends Brittany had been looking for before she got distracted. Her aura was even brighter after her performance and all the attention she was getting from her friends. _"She is the brightest rainbow I have ever seen!" _Brittany thought with astonishment. Just as Brittany finished her thought the girl looked up and the two locked eyes. Brittany felt consumed by those soulful dark eyes and all she could think was _"So pretty."_


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Thank you everyone for your reviews/favorites/alerts. Disclaimers, warnings and acknowledgements as before.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 3: Santana<span>**

Santana was snapped out of her silent staring contest with the beautiful blonde by Tina's voice next to her "Oh, there's Britt! I knew she would show up sooner rather than later."

Santana turned towards her friend just in time to catch the shadow of a cheeky grin on her lips as she waved someone over. Shaking her head Santana tried to focus back on the real world and see if she had missed anything in her momentary daze. By the time she had gotten her bearings the stunning blonde had joined their little group.

"There you are!" Tina said cheerfully. "I'm surprised you haven't been stuck to my side all night just in case you missed-" She cut her sentence short when she saw Brittany's eyes bug out and shaking her head slightly with a pleading look. "Fine." Tina relented in her teasing. "Santana this is Brittany. The last member of our merry band of misfits. Brittany this is Santana." Tina put extra emphasis on Santana's name. "She is a friend of mine from college." She explained unnecessarily.

Santana found herself mesmerised again by the beauty she now knew as Brittany. Up close she could see that her deep blue eyes had a feline shape and her fine hair was the colour of spun gold. She wondered if it would feel as silky smooth as it looked if she was to run her fingers through it.

Trying to compose herself she put out her hand to shake Brittany's outstretched one. "Pleasure to meet you." Brittany said in her airy voice, a dazzling smile stretching across her face.

"Uh. Yeah. Pleasure to meet me too – ugh YOU! Meet YOU too!" Santana replied completely flustered. She wanted to smack herself upside the head. _"Smooth Santana. Wow I really am a nerd."_ She thought self-deprecatingly.

Brittany just kept smiling that disarming smile but there was amusement dancing in her eyes. The chuckling of her friends around her brought Santana's attention away from Brittany and she realised she was still clasping her hand. Reluctantly she let go and drew her hand back to her side. She could still feel the heat from Brittany's palm against her own and she had tingles running up her arm to her elbow.

"Uhm, sorry." Santana mumbled. She thought that she could feel a blush building on her cheeks so she looked bashfully to the floor, avoiding eye contact with everyone surrounding her.

After a few seconds of whispered discussions around her she heard Tina say loudly "So who is up next to sing?" taking pity on her friend and trying to turn attention away from her.

As grateful as Santana was for the distraction she still didn't dare raise her eyes from the floor until she was sure her new friends were fully immersed in their argument as to who was up next on stage. As soon as she dared to look up she saw Brittany snap her head away from her as if she was caught staring. _"Yeah she was probably gawking at what an idiot you are."_ Santana thought sullenly.

Santana remained silent throughout Mercedes' impressive rendition of a Whitney Houston song and Mike and Tina's hilarious performance of 'I've got you babe'. The whole time she was trying to appear engrossed in the performances and not sneaking peeks at Brittany. She was only slightly successful but most of the times she did dare to look at Brittany she was looking right back.

When Mike and Tina re-joined the group, to uproarious laughter and applause, Santana offered her own congratulations and smile. When everyone settled down Mike informed them regretfully that he had to make the rounds. "You guys know I would rather spend the night with you geeks but the last thing I need tomorrow is an 8am phone call from my mother having a go at me for ignoring my cousins who came all this way and blah blah blah." He said in a mocking tone. "You coming babe?" He directed to Tina. "You know you better put in an appearance as well."

"Ugh, do I have to?" Tina whined. "What about Santana? I can't just abandon her!"

Santana scoffed at that. "I'm a big girl now you know Serine. I can take care of myself!" She crossed her arms across her chest and huffed at Tina, offended.

Mike just chuckled while Tina rolled her eyes. "You aren't getting out of it that easily. Santana will be fine. Maybe Britt could give her a tour of the place!" He suggested with a cheeky grin.

"Uhh. Yeah. Sure." Santana said a bit hesitantly. "I mean only if you want to. You don't have to drag yourself away from the party for my expense. I'm perfectly fine on my own. I can entertain myself." She quickly added trying to give Brittany an out if she wanted it.

"What are we, chopped liver?" She heard Mercedes complain in the background but ignored her. Her full attention was on Brittany.

"No, it's fine." Brittany replied with a sincere smile. "I can show you all the hidden and best places around here."

"That sounds great." Santana said with a smile, getting lost in Brittany's eyes again.

"Right, so it's settled then. We all go do our own thing then meet back here in like forty-five minutes, an hour." Mike said.

They all agreed and went their separate ways. Brittany smiled shyly at Santana and inclined her head towards the door motioning for her to follow as she made her way out of the Karaoke Room.

* * *

><p>When they were out in the hallway Santana was surprised by how quiet it was considering how loud the rooms were. She realised with a startle that it was completely quiet. Not only could the music and chatter from the rooms not be heard, but Santana's head wasn't filled with anybody's thoughts either. She tried to think when she had last heard thoughts and if she had just been blocking them out. The last thought she heard for sure, she realised, was Brittany thinking something about a rainbow.<p>

The thoughts of everyone around her are usually a constant humming in her brain. It took years to learn to block them out enough so that they didn't take over her mind. The only time she had managed to quiet them down was when she was drunk, which was a big reason she drank so much as a teenager. But the alcohol and numbing of her telepathy only served to enhance her other overdeveloped ability. When her head was quiet of other people's voices her heart was generally filled with their emotions. When she drank in high school to dim her telepathy, her enhanced empathy usually made her overemotional and weepy, horny, or angry since those tended to be the predominant emotions of the teenagers that surrounded her.

This time, however, even though her telepathy was practically turned off, so was her enhanced empathy. The emotions she was feeling were completely her own. The embarrassment from getting caught staring at Brittany, the indignation at Tina's implication that she needed a chaperone, were all legitimate feelings that were not influenced by other people's emotions.

She was starting to get a bit freaked out over it all when she noticed Brittany looking at her with a concerned look on her face. "Are you ok?" Brittany asked gently placing her hand on Santana's arm.

Santana looked at Brittany's hand then back to her eyes trying to see if she could hear what Brittany was thinking. Brittany quickly removed her hand and thought **"She looks freaked out. I hope it's not 'cause of me."**

Breathing a sigh of relief Santana shook her head and tried to give Brittany a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Just appreciating the quiet."

"Oh. Well I guess you don't want to go to the dance rooms then, if you like it quiet." Brittany mumbled trying to think where she could take Santana.

"I've already seen the Disco Room. But I think quiet would be nice for a little bit." Santana supplied. But then she started second guessing herself and rambling. "Unless you wanna go dance, or have someone better to spend your time with. Someone as pretty as you is bound to have a boyfriend waiting for you somewhere. Or a girlfriend! Nothing wrong with that. Live and let love I say." Santana snapped her mouth shut trying to reign in the torrent of words that were flooding out of her mouth. _"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"_ she muttered to herself.

Brittany just chuckled and shook her head with amusement. "You think I'm pretty?" She asked cheekily.

"Well yeah. Do you not own a mirror?" Santana clamped her mouth shut again and looked to the floor avoiding Brittany's eyes. This time she was sure her blush could be seen even under her dark skin.

Taking pity on her Brittany just smiled at her adorableness. "Well thank you. Anyway I don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend at the moment and I dance for a living so I don't mind not dancing for a night. If you want quiet I know just the place."

With a smile Brittany took her hand and led Santana to the stairs. They passed the first floor with the dance rooms and kept climbing. On the second floor Brittany pointed out the entrance to Mike and Tina's apartment but they bypassed that and kept moving up. When they reached the top floor Brittany headed right for the door marked 'Roof Access Only' and just pushed through.

When the chilly night air hit them they realised they were still holding hands and both let go suddenly. Brittany made her way to the edge of the roof and leaned over the ledge slightly to see the street below. Santana took in a deep breath and held it. She wanted to shout out at Brittany to get away from the edge but she didn't want to startle her. She also didn't want to seem like an even bigger loser than she already must look like tonight.

Realising Santana wasn't next to her anymore Brittany turned away from the ledge to find her. Noticing how she had basically plastered herself to the wall next to the door she approached her cautiously. "Sorry I never considered you might be afraid of heights. We can go back in if you want. " Brittany offered apologetically.

"No it's fine. I've just always avoided heights since I was a child. Too risky." Santana tried to reassure her. "As long as I am not near the edge I'm fine. It's actually quite nice up here." She said looking up to see the night sky full of stars. Not something she was used to seeing since she came to the city.

"OK then." Brittany said and sat down indian style right next to where Santana was standing. She looked up at the starry night and sighed. Santana turned her gaze away from the night sky towards Brittany. She just admired her beautiful profile for a few seconds taking in her peaceful and wistful stare. She wondered again why her mind was so quiet. Why Brittany's thoughts weren't just flowing from her. _"She seems so open and I could hear her just fine earlier even when she was in other rooms."_ She decided to brave making herself look like a fool again by trying to start a conversation with the blonde rather than just stare at her like a creeper.

"So you said you dance for a living. Are you an instructor here? You seem to know your way around the place." Santana asked breaking Brittany away from her thoughts.

"Something like that." Brittany replied with a cryptic smile, not looking away from the stars. Santana just stared at her expectantly. She figured she could try and focus on reading Brittany's thoughts but she would much rather hear her actual voice and not invade her privacy like that.

Brittany finally looked away from the sky when she felt Santana's eyes burning a hole into the side of her head. Laughing at Santana's expression she started to explain "You know Mike owns this place right?"

"Yeah." Santana replied trying to encourage Brittany to get to the point.

"Well I used to be just an instructor here." Brittany paused again for dramatic effect.

"Used to?" Santana encouraged again.

"Well I still teach dance here. Only now I just happen to own half of it with Mike as well." Brittany finally gave her the full explanation.

Santana gave her a low whistle. "It's quite impressive of you guys to own a business at such a young age. It's a pretty well-known and successful studio as far as I can tell." Santana complemented.

"Thanks." Brittany modestly answered. "I think it's only doing so well because we really love what we are doing. Dance has finally become fun for both of us again."

"Why? Did it stop being fun at some point?" Santana asked as she sat down next to Brittany. She was genuinely interested in Brittany's answer. It wasn't just how pretty she was that attracted Santana to her, but also the snippets of her thoughts she caught earlier. Originally she thought that whoever the thoughts belonged to must be drunk because they were so capricious. But Brittany was obviously sober so the randomness of her thoughts intrigued her. _"She must have a pretty interesting view of the world."_ Santana thought as she leaned back against the wall waiting for Brittany to explain.

Brittany started to recount about her time with AMDC and quitting to live with Rachel and Kurt and how that all led to her and Mike owning the studio. Santana was mesmerised throughout the whole conversation. She caught glimpses of Brittany's unique point of view when she mentioned auras and music-colours and touch-sounds. Sure, if anyone else was saying things like that she would probably think they were crazy. But Brittany's enthusiasm and genuine excitement and emotion when she was telling her story made Santana believe that there was something really special about Brittany. Again she resisted the urge to try and read Brittany's thoughts when she seemed to go off on these tangents. She may be confused now but she was sure Brittany was the type of person it was worth taking the time to really get to know properly. Shortcuts would just ruin the experience.

She was enjoying the silence in her head. The only sounds that of Brittany's voice and the light traffic from the street below them. She wished she knew how it was happening. If she wasn't dedicating her full attention to Brittany she would be going crazy trying to figure it out.

Once Brittany had gotten through the story of how the group had come to be and she and Mike ended up owning a studio she entertained Santana with stories of her students or some of the antics the group of friends had gotten up to. All with the added bonus of being viewed and interpreted through Brittany's eyes with her always interesting and amusing commentary. They were brought out of their latest bought of laughter about a story of Rachel and losing some money to a goat by the sound of Santana's phone signifying she received a message. Santana apologised and pulled the phone out of her pocket to check it.

"Oh my God!" Santana exclaimed as soon as she unlocked the screen. The message was from Quinn but that wasn't the reason for her reaction.

"What? Is everything ok?" Brittany asked with concern.

"Yeah. I just noticed the time that's all." Santana reassured.

"What is it like twelve? So we left the gang waiting for fifteen minutes. I'm sure they're fine and will forgive us." Brittany replied untroubled.

"Erm, it's been a bit longer than fifteen minutes since we were supposed to meet up with them." Santana said hesitantly.

"How much longer? What time is it?" Brittany asked.

"Well it's just passed one-thirty now."

"Shit! Really!?" Brittany exclaimed standing up and dusting off the back of her shorts. "We really spent almost three hours up here? It didn't feel like it!"

"No it didn't." Santana agreed standing up reluctantly to join Brittany. She really didn't want to leave the roof and Brittany's company. Spending time with the blonde, laughing with her and getting glimpses into how she views the world was the highlight of Santana's week. Hell her month even. These few hours together made her feel more alive than she has felt in a while. Her mind never even drifted to her project or her brother.

"I guess we should go and find the others before they send out a search party for us or something. They seem dramatic enough to do something like that." Santana suggested.

"Oh, they are definitely dramatic enough." Brittany laughed. Her melodic laughter made Santana's heart speed up and she got lost in Brittany's bright eyes for the millionth time that night. "But they probably just figured we are hooking up somewhere." Brittany mumbled.

"Huh?" Santana eloquently asked, shaking herself out of her daze.

"Nothing!" Brittany said quickly and a bit too loudly.

Santana just looked at her for a while and decided to let it go. "Ok. So shall we?" she asked pointing to the door back into the building and reality.

Brittany released a breath of relief that Santana didn't push the subject. She took Santana's hand and led her to the stairs.

On the way down Santana tried to open her mind to see if she could hear any of the group's thoughts. It took her longer than usual and required quite a bit of effort and focus but she finally heard Kurt's high voice **"I'm gonna fall asleep in this comfy chair if they aren't back soon."**

"Where are the most comfortable chairs around here?" Santana asked Brittany.

Brittany turned to her with an inquisitive look. That seemed like a random question, even to her. "Erm, probably the waiting room off the reception." She answered hesitantly. "It's the Lounge Room for the evening. Why?" she asked.

"We should start looking for the group from there." Santana shrugged a little.

Brittany looked at her sceptically for a beat then shrugged and smiled. "Ok." She said leading Santana there.

* * *

><p>When they entered the Lounge Room and found it empty apart from their friends, Brittany turned to Santana with an astonished look. "How did you know? Are you psychic!?"<p>

"Lucky guess." Santana shrugged and approached their friends.

Rachel was stretched out across two chairs snoring lightly, while Kurt was nodding off reclined in the chair next to her. Mercedes was giggling lightly at something on her phone while Tina was sitting in Mike's lap and blushing at whatever he was whispering in her ear.

Kurt noticed them first when his eyes popped open as his chin hit his chest in his napping and woke himself up. "Finally!" He said in an irritated tone that caught everyone's attention. Well except Rachel's who just snorted, rolled over on her makeshift bed and continued snoring.

"Sorry." Brittany said sheepishly. "We went up to the roof and got to talking and lost track of time." She tried to excuse their lateness.

"Talking?" Tina asked with a doubtful look on her face.

"Yes talking!" Brittany said emphatically.

"I never knew Santana could talk so much. She is usually so laconic." Tina said again with a smirk.

"Bite me!" Santana grumbled causing Tina to chuckle. "See! Not the most sparkling conversationalist."

"Well to be fair I did most of the talking." Brittany supplied. Then a frown formed on her face and she turned to Santana. "I'm sorry. I just realised how true that is. I practically talked your ear off and you hardly got a word in edgewise!"

Santana dropped her scowl and smiled at Brittany. "It's fine. I had a great time. And as much as I hate to admit it, Serine is actually right. I don't usually talk much. I am more of a listener." Santana reassured her.

_"Even more of a listener than any of you know."_ She thought to herself.

"OK." Brittany said not looking at all convinced. "But now I realise I don't know nearly enough about you. Next time you can do all the talking and I'll be the listener." She finished with a proud smile.

"Next time huh?" Santana chuckled with a smile.

"Well yeah. I hope this wasn't just a random one-night stand!" Brittany said making her friends laugh and Santana blush lightly.

"Erm, no. I would very much like for there to be a next time." Santana mumbled bashfully bringing out Brittany's dazzling toothy smile.

"As entertaining as this is," Kurt interrupted their moment "I am exhausted and we need to get Snoring Diva here home to bed Britt." He said with a nod to the sleeping Rachel.

"Yeah, I better get going as well." Santana said sending a regretful glance Brittany's way. "It was really nice to meet you all." She said to the rest of the group. "Thanks for inviting me and Happy Birthday again Mike. I'll see you on Monday, Serine."

Brittany offered to see her out as the others said their goodbyes. As soon as they left the room Brittany took Santana's hand again. At the entrance to the studio they both stopped and just looked into each other's eyes for a moment. Eventually Brittany leaned in and pulled Santana into a hesitant hug.

"I had a really nice time tonight. I'm so glad I met you. I knew you would be special. My senses have never let me down yet." Brittany whispered into her ear.

Santana was a bit confused by that last bit but she totally agreed with the original sentiment. "I had a great time too. I'm glad I came tonight and got a chance to meet you." She replied.

They eventually pulled away from the hug and Santana turned to leave while Brittany lent against the door frame to watch her go. Just as Santana was stepping off the last step Brittany shouted after her "There better be a next time!"

Santana chuckled and turned around. "There will be. I promise."

As soon as she turned the corner and was out of Brittany's sight she pulled out her phone to check Quinn's message. "Bitch I hope you are out late cause you are finally having some fun and you haven't been kidnapped or something. I want details!"

Santana smiled at her friend's message and quickly typed up a short reply. "It was the best night of my life."

* * *

><p>By the time Santana woke up the next day it was almost noon. She hadn't gotten home until after 2am and she spent the first couple of hours tossing and turning in bed thinking about the night's events. Since Brittany wasn't around to distract her she couldn't get over the fact that her telepathy was turned down and she honestly didn't know why. The only thing that had changed really was her proximity to the beautiful and enigmatic blonde. When she eventually did manage to drift off to sleep it was Brittany's bright eyes and dazzling smile that filled her head.<p>

Groaning and stretching out in her bed, Santana reached for her phone on the bedside table. She was sure her overstated message to Quinn would lead to an interrogation. As she expected she already had four messages from Quinn demanding an explanation. Chuckling at her friend's predictability she got out of bed to make some coffee before she contacted her.

As she waited for her coffee to brew she turned on her laptop. It would take too much effort trying to explain last night through texts so she would just call her friend through Skype. Before she even managed to take her first sip the familiar Skype ringtone started and a goofy picture of her best friend filled the screen. Taking a quick sip and sighing at the warm liquid she answered the call.

"The best night of your life and you leave it at that!?" Quinn shrieked into the camera.

"Hello to you too." Santana grumbled, still not completely awake.

"What part of details do you not understand San!?" Quinn asked snootily.

"Bitch it was late and too much happened to write in a message! I literally just got up and was about to call you. Calm the fuck down!" Santana snapped.

"Fine! Drink your coffee and once you have joined the land of the living call me." Quinn retorted and hung up.

"Damn drama queen. She would have fit in just fine with the rest of them from last night." Santana muttered to herself. That got her thinking about Brittany and she sighed as she took another big gulp of her coffee.

She spent another half hour enjoying her coffee and waking up properly. She would be the first to admit she isn't a morning person. She usually needed a good half an hour after she woke up to be even a little sociable. On a typical day she would brew some coffee and then browse through her many website and journal subscriptions while enjoying her first cup before she would even attempt to talk to anyone. This morning though she didn't even care to check her emails. She just drank her coffee in silence and spent the thirty minutes daydreaming about Brittany.

Once she was done with her first cup she poured herself a second and called Quinn. She may have been pissy earlier but she did want to tell her best friend all about the night before. Quinn answered on the second ring but didn't speak. She just stared at Santana through the laptop screen with her eyebrow raised and waited with an expectant look on her face.

"Fine! I'm sorry OK?" Santana broke first.

"Ready to tell me all about last night now?" Quinn said with a triumphant smile.

"You're like a dog with a bone." Santana muttered.

"If you don't want to talk about it I have shit to do. It's a Sunday and I have a boyfriend who actually likes to spend time with me and talk to me." Quinn snapped.

"Puck actually talks!? I thought he just grunted and beat his chest demanding sex and chugging beer." Santana teased.

"Bitch, you know he's grown up and matured since high school. I thought you had a good time last night, who pissed in your Wheaties this morning?" Quinn defended her boyfriend and questioned Santana.

"Sorry. I'm just deflecting. You know how I am." Santana grudgingly admitted.

"I do. Which is why I won't actually tell Puck that you called him a caveman." Quinn accepted her apology with a smile.

"You call him a Neanderthal all the time!" Santana grouched.

"Yes I do. But I eventually have sex with him so I'm allowed to call him whatever I want." Quinn explained with a smirk. "Anyway, get to it! What made last night so great? Was it a girl? Was she pretty? Prettier than me? Did you actually get some!?" Quinn threw out questions at a rapid fire pace.

"Hold your horses woman! Are you implying that I have to get laid to have a great night?" Santana scowled at the best friend.

"I'm not implying anything. I'm just saying it's been a while and you finding a girl that could rock your world might be just the thing you need." Quinn justified. "And stop deflecting! Was she prettier than me!?"

Santana was torn between being offended at Quinn calling out her celibate lifestyle, teasing her about her complex or just being honest with her.

"She rocked my world alright. Just in a much more profound way than your sleazy mind in the gutter could ever comprehend." Santana smirked at her friend. "If all I wanted was sex with a hot girl then I would have spent the night picking the brain of Motormouth Berry and be done with it." She added.

"OK, OK. So you didn't get laid. Who is this girl and how did she rock your world without even getting in your pants?"

"Her name is Brittany and she is stunning. She has these big, blue, cat-like eyes that just sparkle with energy and a sense of adventure, I could get lost in them forever. And her hair is really shiny and long and blonde. It looked so soft and smooth I just wanted to run my fingers through it. She has a rocking body, I mean it makes sense since she's a dancer. Those long legs seem to go on for miles." Santana gushed with a dreamy look on her face.

"OK now I need to see a picture!" Quinn demanded snapping Santana out of her reverie.

"Huh?" she so eloquently asked with a confused look on her face.

"A picture! I need to see what this girl looks like 'cause you are clearly biased." Quinn claimed. "She can't possibly be prettier than me." She mumbled.

"How the hell would I have a picture of her Q!?" Santana snapped. Angry that her friend had interrupted her daydream.

"I don't know Santana. We are living in the age of technology! Did you not take her picture with your phone when you exchanged numbers!?" Quinn asked with a huff.

"We didn't exchange numbers." Santana mumbled with a contemplative look on her face.

"What? How are you gonna keep in touch? Bitch, please tell me you at least talked to this girl and you didn't just spend all night staring at her from across the room like a creeper."

"Fuck you, bitch! We spent all night together! I just forgot to get her number." Santana defended herself.

"Was it one-sided then? Maybe she didn't want to see you again if she didn't offer her number." Quinn teased with a chuckle. When she saw her friend's face fall though, she regretted it. She sometimes forgot how insecure Santana was under all her bravado and the persona she had adopted in high school.

"Shit, San I'm sorry! I was only teasing. I'm sure she loved your company and definitely wants to see you again!" Quinn tried to backtrack.

"She did insist that there be a next time…" Santana said still with a bit of doubt in her voice.

"See! You can just look her up on Facebook or something and send her a message from there." Quinn said in an upbeat tone trying to cheer up her friend.

Santana just groaned and smacked her head on the table mumbling.

"What was that sweetie?" Quinn asked trying not to laugh at her friend's dramatics.

"I don't know her last name…" Santana mumbled again peeking up at the screen with her head still on the table.

A small laugh did escape Quinn this time but she quickly stifled it at Santana's death glare.

"OK, OK. I'm sorry. I'll stop." Quinn said composing herself. "We'll figure this out. What do you know about her?"

"Well she half-owns the studio the party was at with Mike, Tina's boyfriend." Santana said hesitantly.

"OK, so there are two ways we can go about this. She is obviously friends with Tina so you can just ask her for her number or her surname at least to look her up on Facebook." At Santana's doubtful look she quickly continued with option two. "Or, you can look up the studio online and see if you can find her details that way. Surely at least her full name will be somewhere." She finished.

"Well I'd rather not look like a complete dork to Tina and Mike. Especially if she isn't really interested." Santana replied sullenly.

"She's interested." Quinn stated emphatically. "Anyway. What's the name of the studio? Please tell me you remember that at least!"

"Yeah, I do. It's 'Rainbow Fusion'. It's actually pretty well known, I think." Santana stated with a bit of pride.

"OK, let's see what we can find out." Quinn said looking down, obviously typing up the name on her keyboard.

"Wow!" she said after a few seconds.

"What? You find her?" Santana asked hopefully.

"Yeah. You weren't kidding! She looks like a blonde Amazon Warrior!" Quinn said sending the link she had found to Santana. It was the official website to the studio.

Santana opened the link and sighed with a dreamy look when Brittany's proud and beaming face filled the screen. She was standing with Mike underneath the studio sign.

"Ohh, there's a video section!" Quinn exclaimed enthusiastically. The music to 'The Fear' by Ben Howard came through Santana's speakers as both her and Quinn pressed on the first video link with Brittany's name on it.

"Wow San, she is really good!" Quinn proclaimed.

"Yeah." Santana replied dreamily. "She was with the American Modern Dance Company for five years." She supplied.

Quinn gave a low whistle and arched an eyebrow. "Impressive. I saw their touring performance of Swan Lake a few years ago. Wasn't very modern but they were really good."

"She is fearless Q! She gave it all up to strike out on her own without even really knowing what she was gonna do just 'cause she was unhappy there. And look at where she is now! Not only does she part own a studio but there are videos here crediting her as a choreographer to some of the hottest up and coming artists!" Santana gushed.

Quinn chuckled at her friend's fangirling. "Yeah she seems like a real catch. Don't screw it up Lopez!"

Santana's face fell and Quinn sighed. "Damn it San I was only teasing!"

"What chance do I really have? I mean she is fearless and I am basically afraid of my own shadow. She takes life by the horns and does what she wants and I am just spare parts living for someone else. She sees things in colours and full of music and my world is black and white and full of noise." Santana stated miserably.

"Hey now!" Quinn raised her voice trying to get through to her mopping friend. "None of that! You aren't afraid of your shadow you just don't take unnecessary risks. That's not a bad thing. And you are NOT spare parts! You are your own person! Even your parents would agree with me. Hell do I need to call up Marco!?"

"No." Santana mumbled petulantly. "That was a low blow Fabray." She accused.

"Well sometimes you need a kick in the butt to get your head out of there." Quinn replied with a smirk. "So what the hell did you and the Amazon Princess talk about all night that has made you so crazy?" Quinn hoped getting Santana to gush about Brittany would snap her out of her funk instead of make her spiral further down the rabbit hole of despair she sometimes falls into.

"Not that much considering we were alone together on the roof for almost three hours." Santana said.

"She got you to go on a roof? Did you freak out?" Quinn asked knowingly.

"Almost. When she was leaning over the edge looking at the street below. But she noticed and stepped away. We mostly lent against the wall by the door for most of the time." Santana admitted grudgingly and Quinn just laughed.

"She's really special Quinn." Santana said softly. "She made everything quiet." She added in almost a whisper.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked gently but the shock was obvious in her voice.

"I could hear everyone as usual at the beginning of the night. And before we met I could hear her thoughts just fine. They were probably louder and clearer than anyone at the party. But once she was near me and we were introduced then everything went quiet. It took me a while to realise it, I was so distracted by her, and I almost freaked out when I did. But when she saw me and I focused really hard I could hear her again. But it actually required effort." Santana tried to explain.

"Did you have anything to drink? You couldn't have been slipped something without realising right?" Quinn asked with concern.

"No, nothing like that. And my empathy was in check as well. No unwanted thoughts or feelings." Santana replied.

"Wow. So was it only from her or everyone? Do you think it is actually because of Brittany or just a freak coincidence?"

"I had to focus really hard to hear anyone when she was near me. But on my way home I could hear the homeless guy in the park from a block away and the few people that were still milling about. It would be a pretty huge coincidence if it isn't because of Brittany." Santana said.

"Wow." Quinn repeated. "She must be really special then. So any ideas how or why it started?" she asked.

"Not a clue." Santana replied honestly and way more nonchalant than Quinn expected.

"How are you not obsessing over this? I would have thought figuring it out would be a priority for you. I was actually surprised when you didn't use your big brain to search for some kind of treatment for yourself but instead you focused your research on ALD." Quinn questioned. She had always wondered about that.

"What I have is an inconvenience. What Marco has would have been fatal if it weren't for our exceptional circumstances. Hell it usually is." Santana replied with a shrug. "And I don't know. I guess I'm not quite convinced yet that it wasn't just some random malfunction. I thought about it for a while last night but I don't want it to taint my night with Brittany or influence any future encounters." She tried to answer Quinn's first question.

"So when _are_ you seeing her again?" Quinn inquired curiously.

"Dunno. We never actually arranged anything. And now that I don't have her number I have no idea." Santana replied.

"Like you would have made the first move even if you had her number." Quinn stated knowingly.

"Yeah, whatever bitch." Santana grumbled. Hating that Quinn was probably right.

"At least look her up and add her on Facebook. It will show you are interested and at least tried to find a way to contact her." Quinn advised.

"Won't it seem creepy or desperate or something? Like I just met her last night and then first thing next day I stalk her Facebook?" Santana asked self-consciously.

"I'm not saying stalk her account and like everything she has posted in the last year!" Quinn admonished. "Just find her and send a friend request. If you're feeling particularly brave maybe send her a message saying something like, since you forgot to exchange numbers at least now you have some way of keeping in contact." She finished.

"Uhh. I'll think about it." Santana conceded.

"Well I definitely think you should. Don't overthink it. Anyway I'm supposed to meet Puck soon so I gotta go but keep me posted!"

"Yeah, yeah. Say hi to the goof from me." Santana said.

"Awww! See, you do like him!" Quinn laughed and gave her friend a wink.

"Whatever, bitch. Have fun." Santana replied.

"Bye San! Love ya!" Quinn said cheerily and made kissy faces at the screen, making Santana laugh.

"You're nuts! See you Q." She greeted before logging off.

* * *

><p>Santana spent the rest of the day trying to decide what to do about Brittany. She had found her on Facebook pretty easily once she had her full name but she couldn't work up the courage to send the friend request. She spent a few hours reading any new articles she could find and catching up with 'Orphan Black' on Netflix.<p>

By 11 o'clock she was getting into bed but still hadn't dared to send the request, even though she had spent more time than she would ever admit admiring Brittany's profile picture. Sighing and cursing her cowardice she slammed her laptop shut and curled up under her covers.

Just as she was getting comfortable, the new message chime went off on her phone that was charging on the bedside table. Grumbling she reached for it fully expecting the message to be from Quinn calling her a chicken shit or something. Her breath caught and her heart sped up when she opened the message.

It wasn't from Quinn.

"Sorry to message you so late and I hope you don't think this is creepy or anything but I got your number from Tina. You never gave it to me even though you promised a next time. xx Britt"


	4. Chapter 4

****AN:**** Thank you everyone for your reviews/favorites/alerts. Disclaimers, warnings and acknowledgements as before. Sorry I didn't upload on schedule, I got distracted. Hope you enjoy even if it is a day late.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 4: Brittany<strong>

When Brittany returned to the lounge after walking Santana out she expected her friends to be ready to leave. Instead as she pushed the door open she barely missed smacking Mercedes in the face with it and the rest of her friends were rushing to scatter away from the door.

Shaking her head Brittany muttered "Should have known." Then she noticed Mike trying to discreetly move away from the side of the door with a sheepish look on his face. "Even you Monkey!? I thought you were better than that!" she exclaimed.

Mike just looked to the floor guiltily while Mercedes and Kurt both protested.

"Hey! What are you implying about the rest of us!?"

"That you are gossiping divas? Is that not how you basically introduced yourselves to me when I first came round for the apartment?" Brittany said with a smirk.

"I'm pretty sure we never said anything about gossiping." Kurt tried to defend.

"No I figured that out all by myself." Brittany said with a light laugh.

"We were just curious." Tina tried to justify. "You were alone together for like three hours."

It was Brittany's turn to look sheepish. "Well you guys know I would probably just tell you anything you wanted to know anyway." She said with a shrug.

"Well where is the fun in that?" Mercedes asked with a smirk and the others chuckled.

"Hey! I might have been distracted by Santana but your aura is still sparking pinks and reds! Who's got you in a lovey mood?" Brittany asked Mercedes with a smirk of her own.

"Yeah, who were you texting earlier and giggling over?" Mike asked.

Mercedes seemed to lose her sass after that and refused to answer the question.

"It was probably that Sam guy. You know blond hair and amazing body but absolutely no style and a bit geeky with all those impressions and stuff." Kurt supplied.

"Hey! He is not geeky!" Mercedes defended him.

"Wait, the I.T. guy that set up our website?" Brittany asked.

"Oh yeah, he is super geeky. Nice guy though." Mike said when he realised who they were talking about.

"Yeah, nice and clear baby blue aura." Brittany added with a nod to emphasize her point.

"Whatever." Mercedes mumbled. "I thought we were trying to find out what happened between Rainbow Britt and Santana?" she tried to deflect.

"Britt is right. She will tell us everything eventually. You on the other hand." Tina said with a smirk.

"Fine! We got to talking after his Bieber performance and hit it off. He may be a bit geeky but he was nice to me. Made me laugh. We exchanged numbers and he just sent me a text to let me know he got home OK and is looking forward to our coffee date on Wednesday. Happy now?" Mercedes finally told them.

"Awww!" Brittany and Tina cooed while Kurt and Mike just smiled at her affectionately.

Just as Mercedes was getting tired with all the attention, a loud snore interrupted the group and they turned towards Rachel who was now on her back snoring a bit more loudly.

"Right, well that's our cue." Kurt said and moved towards Rachel to wake her.

"Wakey, wakey Sleeping Beauty." He said as he shook her shoulder lightly.

"Is it time for my solo?" Rachel mumbled slowly opening her eyes.

"You only just started rehearsals! And you aren't even a lead! You have no solos!" Kurt exclaimed.

"It is just a matter of time." Rachel replied snottily, now completely awake.

Kurt just rolled his eyes. "Come on, time to go home." He said pulling her up from her makeshift bed.

They all said their goodbyes and headed home after promising to be back tomorrow, well later the same day technically, to help clean up.

* * *

><p>Early in the afternoon, once everyone had recovered from the party, the group was all gathered at the studio again for clean-up duty. Feeling guilty for abandoning her friends for most of the night and not really helping out that much with the set-up, Brittany tried to be less distracted and actually contribute. She managed to make picking up plastic cups and stuffing them in a trash bag look graceful as she timed her movements to the beat of the music flowing through the studio speakers. She made mopping up look like an elegant Waltz.<p>

They finished relatively quickly considering the amount of people they had in the place last night. When they were done, Mike treated everyone to Thai food as a thank you for all their help. After they enjoyed their meal the group started to disperse. Mercedes mumbled something about a Skype date with Sam. Rachel stated she needed to run through her lines again before the next day's rehearsal and demanded Kurt go home with her to help and offer constructive feedback. Rolling his eyes he dutifully followed his roommate out. Brittany said she had some choreography ideas she wanted to work on so she would see them later at home. Mike offered to stay in the studio with her and help if she needed a partner but she shooed him away to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with Tina.

"I'm just going to burn off some excess energy." She assured him.

"No problem." Mike said with a knowing smile. "Come by the apartment when you are done if you want. We can watch a movie or something." He added.

"Sure. See you in a bit." She replied with a smile.

* * *

><p>Entering her favourite rehearsal room Brittany turned on all the lights and headed for the sound system. She found the song she was looking for on her iPod, put it on repeat and connected it to the sound system.<p>

The intro to 'Valerie' blared through the speakers around the room and Brittany started stretching out while watching the purple swirls and waves weave through the air. She closed her eyes when Amy started to sing and tried to remember Santana's raspy voice instead. Once she was done with her stretches she started following the colours around her for a bit and then started to move her body to mimic their motions. She spent about an hour coming up with choreography that encompassed the motions of the colours and her own emotions concerning Santana. Feeling satisfied with the result and having burnt off all her excess anxious energy she turned off the music and sat with her back against the mirrors lining the wall. Sipping some water she flipped through her phone seeing if anything interesting had occurred since she started dancing.

She realised that the only thing she was actually interested in wasn't going to happen if she didn't make the first move. When Mercedes had mentioned exchanging numbers with Sam it occurred to Brittany that she and Santana hadn't and if the impression she got from Santana last night was right Brittany would have to be the one to seek her out. Santana may have promised a next time but that didn't mean she would actually make the first move.

Stuffing her things in her gym bag Brittany turned off the lights and locked up the studio heading up to Mike and Tina's second floor apartment.

* * *

><p>Brittany knocked on the door to their apartment twice and waited.<p>

"Come in Britt, it's open!" Tina called from the inside.

Brittany let herself in and locked the door behind her. There was no one in the small living room so she headed back to the small study they had set up in the second bedroom. Tina was typing away on her laptop when Brittany entered.

"Hey." Brittany greeted.

"Hey." Tina replied distractedly with a small wave in Brittany's general direction without looking away from the screen.

Brittany just stood there watching for a few seconds until she started to feel a bit uncomfortable. "Uhm…" she mumbled.

Tina looked up at that. "Sorry." She said apologetically. "I'm just trying to figure out the right concentrations for my experiment in the lab tomorrow and it is turning out to be more complicated than I anticipated." She explained as she turned back to her laptop.

"Oh. No worries. Where's Monkey?" Brittany asked.

"I banished him to the bedroom 'cause he has been arguing with his mother for the past half hour and it was distracting me." Tina explained.

"Ok…" Brittany answered slowly wondering what she was supposed to do now. Tina was obviously busy and didn't want to be distracted and Mike's family arguments could be epic. He had been known to spend hours on the phone with his parents. On the plus side whenever that happened there was usually a care-package through the post within a few days from his mother full of homemade delicacies as an apology. "I'll just go entertain myself in the living room until you guys are done." She mumbled.

* * *

><p>Stretching out on the couch Brittany turned on the TV and started flicking through the channels. She wasn't paying much attention until she stumbled across a documentary about hummingbirds. As soon as she saw the rapid flapping of the small bird's wings she rested the controller on her stomach and smiled. "Kurt!" she giggled to herself. That reminded her that she still hadn't figured out exactly what Santana's touch-sound was. She knew it was some sort of big cat but she wanted to know exactly what kind it was.<p>

Looking around she spotted Mike's tablet on the breakfast bar. Technically it was the studio's since they got it to keep everyone's schedules and playlists on it but they had decided it would be best to not leave it lying around the studio when no one was there so it was usually in Mike and Tina's apartment in the off hours. Mike had offered to get one for Brittany as well, on the studio budget, but she usually left most admin things to him so he would have more use for one than her, plus she would probably just misplace it anyway, so she declined. She got up and took the tablet off its charger and turned it on as she moved back to the couch. Their password 'Rainbow Fusion' wasn't exactly original but it made it easy for all the instructors to remember so they could add details to their folders whenever they wanted and nothing really important was ever stored on it.

Since she was still waiting for Mike or Tina to be done and join her she decided she might as well do some research on big cats. Obviously she knew the most popular ones like lions and tigers but a quick search with the term 'big cats' made her realise that there were a lot more animals that fell into that category. She decided that since she could only actually hear it, looking at pictures and reading about them, wouldn't really help so she changed her search to 'big cat sounds'. After scrolling through some sites that didn't seem very helpful she finally found a zoology website that boasted the most extensive animal sounds library and it was all organised into types of animals for easier access.

Smiling to herself she quickly found the section she was looking for and scanned the list of animals. They were in alphabetical order and she decided she might as well just take them in order, listen to the sound carefully and try and figure out which one was Santana's. That is how Mike found her half an hour later, lying across the couch with her knees bent and the tablet propped up against them, her eyes shut and her hands pushing her earphones into her ears firmly.

He tried to call out to her to catch her attention but she obviously couldn't hear him so he padded up to her and put his arm on her shoulder. That made her shriek and jump up opening her eyes. Mike jumped back putting his hands in the air in the sign of surrender as Brittany whirled around towards him and the tablet clattered to the floor. Noticing it was Mike she took a deep breath and brought a hand to her chest to rest against her rapidly beating heart.

"Damn it Monkey! You scared me half to death!" She scolded him.

"Sorry." Mike said stifling a laugh. "I tried calling out to you but you obviously didn't hear me. What were you listening to anyway?" He asked while he bent down to retrieve the fallen tablet.

"Oh. I found a site that has an animal sounds library and I was going through that." Brittany said.

"Cool! Did you figure out what kind of monkey my touch sounds like?" Mike asked excitedly.

"Erm. No. I was actually just listening to the big cats section." Brittany replied with a light blush.

"Who sounds like a big cat?" Mike asked puzzled. But then he noticed the look on Brittany's face. "Let me guess. Santana?" He dragged out her name with a smirk.

"Yeah, she does. Did you know there are so many types of big cats? Like my first thought when I first heard it was lion or tiger but even they have different types, like mountain lions or Bengal tigers, never mind all the others I had never even heard of!" Brittany rambled.

"So did you figure out which one she is?" Mike asked as he smiled at his friend's excitement.

"I think so! I think she is a black panther, or more accurately a melanistic jaguar." Brittany said with a proud smile both for figuring it out and learning the specific name. "Listen!" She said enthusiastically as she snatched the tablet from Mike and found the right sound file.

"Cool!" Mike said as the various sounds a black panther makes filled the small living room. "Sounds pretty fierce." He added.

"Yeah." Brittany agreed with a dreamy expression.

Once the sound file had ended Mike dropped onto the couch and put his sock clad feet on the coffee table. "Can we try and figure out what kind of monkey I am?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure, why not." Brittany replied as she took a seat next to him and started looking through the site again.

* * *

><p>About an hour later Tina wandered out of the office, finally done with her calculations, to find Mike and Brittany huddled over the tablet looking at something and laughing as all different animal sounds filled the air.<p>

"Why does our living room sound like a zoo?" Tina asked getting their attention.

"At least it doesn't smell like one!" Mike cheekily replied.

Tina just gave him a steady stare which had him apologising and rushing to explain. "Sorry. Britt was trying to figure out what kind of big cat Santana's touch-sound is so that made me curious as to what kind of monkey mine is and one link led to another and we eventually ended up at the live cams from the New York zoo."

"Ok. Cool." Tina smiled and joined them on the couch making Brittany laugh at the relieved expression on Mike's face. Tina didn't really care she just liked to mess with her boyfriend on occasion.

"So what is Santana's touch sound?" Tina asked when Brittany stopped teasing and laughing at Mike.

"I'm pretty sure she is a melanistic jaguar more commonly known as the black panther." Brittany said excitedly.

"Don't you wanna know what kind of monkey I am?" Mike asked his girlfriend with a pout.

"I already know. You're a cheeky monkey." Tina said with a smirk and leant in to kiss Mike's pout away.

"I'm a capuchin monkey actually." He mumbled as their lips met.

"So what's the plan now?" Tina asked when she pulled away from the kiss. "I'm pretty sure the zoo animals will be going to sleep soon and that can't be too exciting to watch."

"I was thinking we would just chill out and maybe watch a movie." Mike supplied.

"Sounds good. You staying Britt?" Tina asked.

"If you guys don't mind. I really don't want to have to listen to Rach go through her lines again." Brittany answered.

The couple chuckled. "Sure, no problem. You guys pick a movie and I'll go pop some popcorn and get us drinks and stuff." Tina offered.

"I'll help!" Brittany jumped to her feet as soon as Tina got up making her friends look at her questioningly. "I trust Monkey's choice in movies and it's not fair to make you carry everything on your own!" Brittany tried to justify her behaviour.

"OK then." Tina said making her way towards the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Brittany just leaned against the counter watching Tina find the popcorn bag to stick in the microwave. Once Tina was done and the appliance was running she turned to Brittany.<p>

"So what is it you wanted Britt?" She asked with a kind smile.

"That obvious, huh?" Brittany asked sheepishly.

"You have never been one for much subtlety." Tina explained with a small smile.

"Yeah, I guess." Brittany admitted with a smile of her own.

"So?" Tina encouraged.

"Well, how well do you know Santana?" Brittany asked hesitantly.

"Should have guessed it would be about San." Tina chuckled. "I know her well enough. I'm probably the closest to her from college. Why?"

"It's just, I thought we had a really good time last night. And we are supposed to do it again sometime but we never exchanged details." Brittany started.

"OK." Tina said assuming there was more to come.

"I mean you know her better but she seemed really genuine when she promised a next time. So is us not exchanging details just an oversight on both our parts? 'Cause I forgot to ask for her number as well. So maybe it wasn't intentional on her part either. Maybe she does want us to meet up again she just has no way of contacting me to set it up…" Brittany drifted off at the end, a bit self-conscious in case she had just completely misjudged the situation and Santana was just agreeing to be polite or something.

"First of all, if San promised, she was being honest. She doesn't make promises lightly 'cause she hates to break them." Tina started. "So her not offering her number or asking for yours was either because she forgot or she was too self-conscious and scared of rejection to put herself out there. She would kill me if she knew I was saying this but she is a bit reticent and sometimes can seem downright antisocial. Yeah she can posture with the best of them but she is actually really insecure. So even if you had exchanged details you would probably have to make the first move anyway." She finished.

"I figured I would." Brittany admitted "Sometimes she seemed so skittish, like a kitten or baby rabbit."

Tina laughed. "Not animals someone who first met Santana would associate with her but I get what you mean."

"So you think I should contact her then?" Brittany asked while fidgeting with her hands nervously.

"Oh definitely!" Tina reassured her with a smile. "And I would recommend not leaving it too long because if she is interested, and she sure seemed like she was, she will probably drive herself crazy thinking about if and how she should approach you again." Tina said with an affectionate chuckle for her friend.

"OK. I will then. Thanks!" Brittany said with a bright confident smile as she hugged her friend.

Tina laughed again. "I assume you need her number then?" She asked as she leaned back from the hug and fished her phone out of her pocket.

"Please." Brittany said and took her own phone out to write down the number.

Once that was done they returned to the living room with all their snacks.

"What took so long?" Mike asked as they settled back on the couch.

"Girl talk." Both girls answered and they laughed at their synchronized reply.

Mike just shrugged and started the movie.

* * *

><p>Brittany had a great night with her friends. After the movie they played a few rounds of 'Candyland', her favourite board game, and just chilled out together. She even managed to not think about Santana until she was back at home and getting ready for bed. She decided to just go for it and send her a message. Hopefully it wasn't too late at night and if Santana was actually asleep she wouldn't wake her. Getting comfortable under the covers on her bed she brought up the screen for a new message and quickly typed up and sent the message before she could overthink it.<p>

She held the phone in her hands pressing the 'screen on' button every time it went dark so she could keep an eye on how much time had passed. After five minutes with no reply Brittany sighed, locked the screen, placed the phone on the bedside table and rolled over in bed to get comfortable. _"Maybe she is already asleep. It is pretty late. She might have an early class or lab tomorrow."_ Brittany thought, trying to console herself. With another deep sigh she closed her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep.

As she was humming 'Valerie' to herself, not much help really in her efforts to not think about Santana, her phone chimed and she scrambled to get her hands untangled from the covers to check it. '1 new message' blinked up at her from the screen. Taking a deep breath Brittany opened the message and a big smile took over her lips at Santana's reply.

"Hey. No worries. It's fine. I was gonna get your number from Tina tomorrow at college. San"

"Really? Well I saved you the trouble. =D" Brittany quickly typed out her reply. She was surprised Santana said she was gonna ask Tina for her number. Tina didn't seem to think she would make the first move.

The reply came quicker this time. "Well I like to think I would have, but since you saved me the trouble I guess we will never know. :p"

Brittany laughed at that. "Maybe you could be the first to send a friend request on Facebook then. ;P" Brittany cheekily replied.

As Brittany was holding her phone, waiting for Santana's reply, the Facebook notification chime startled her. Checking the notification she saw it was a friend request from one Santana Lopez. Smiling she accepted the request but before she got a chance to explore Santana's profile she received a new message.

"Funny story. I have been meaning to do that all day." The message read.

"Well I'm glad you got around to it. Busy day?" Brittany replied.

"Same as every Sunday really. Caught up on any new articles or research papers I may have missed through the week and talked to my best friend for a while. You? Good day?" Santana explained in her message.

"It wasn't bad. We had to clean up the studio after the party. Worked on some new choreography then hung out with Mike and Tina. The night is turning into the best part. " Brittany bit her lip as she pressed send wondering if Santana would get her meaning and how the light flirting would be received. Her heart skipped a beat when Santana's latest message arrived.

"Tonight is the best part of my day as well. But as great as this is I'm afraid I have an early morning class and a busy day tomorrow… "

Brittany sighed as she read the end. She has a pretty busy day herself so she understood. And at least Santana seemed to have enjoyed their chat as much as she did. She just really didn't want it to end.

"I get it. I have a full day of classes as well. I'm glad we got to talk even for a little bit. And since I stole your thunder by getting your number first I'll leave it up to you to contact me first whenever you are free and want to. Good night Santana. Sweet dreams. xx"

"I'll text you as soon as I'm done from college tomorrow. I promise. Buenas noches Brittany."

Smiling Brittany put her phone back on the bedside table and tried to finally get some sleep.

* * *

><p>The next day was full-on from the get-go for Brittany. She spent most of the morning working on choreography with one of her older students, Jacob, who was planning on auditioning for a dance company. She and Mike had had many long and honest discussions with him about the pros and cons of working for a company. And even though they both ended up quitting neither one of them could really discourage him from at least auditioning. They both acknowledged that there had definitely been some good times amongst all the bad.<p>

After she was done with Jacob, that kid was gonna kill it at his audition she just knew it, she had her seniors jazzercise class to teach. Brittany loved that class almost as much as she loved the kids' class. She loved listening to their stories; they were always amusing and inspiring. And she loved that none of them let their age stop them from doing what they want.

The first real chance she had to think about Santana was at lunch. Brittany checked her phone while she munched on her grilled chicken wrap and salad from the deli down the street. She wasn't one for crazy diets, she just tried to eat as healthy as possible but she definitely indulged when she wanted to. She sighed when she saw that she had no new messages. She knew Santana was busy and she really hoped she did text her when she was free. She just wished it was sooner rather than later. Seeing the time Brittany decided it was probably best Santana hadn't contacted her yet because she had another class in ten minutes and she wanted to give Santana her undivided attention. She would probably miss her class all together if she started talking to Santana now. Sighing again she cleaned up her mess from lunch, stuck her phone back in her gym bag and made her way to prepare the rehearsal room for her next class.

* * *

><p>Brittany's busy day finally came to an end at 6pm. The few times she managed to check her phone between classes she still didn't have any messages or missed calls from Santana, but she was trying to remain positive. It's not like Brittany had nothing to do all day so it makes sense that Santana would have been just as busy. Just as Brittany was saying goodbye to her last students she heard her phone ringing in her bag so she rushed to answer it, hoping she would finally get to talk to Santana. She rummaged around in her bag until she could find it and answered blindly hoping to catch it before the call got cut off.<p>

"Hello!" Brittany said cheerfully trying to calm down her racing heart.

"Hey, Britt!" Came the excited reply.

"Oh, it's you." Brittany answered in her monotone voice.

"Nice! Is that any way to greet your little sis?" Her sister said indignantly.

"Sorry, Hailey-Bug." Brittany apologised.

"Ugh! Please stop calling me that. I'm fifteen now, I'm not a little kid anymore." Hailey complained, causing Brittany to laugh.

"Why? Do you no longer like to sleep "snug like a bug in a rug"?" Brittany teased.

"I hate you. It's bad enough Gramma used to say that all the time do you have to keep it going?" Hailey whined through the phone.

"Of course! It's part of my sacred duty as a big sister to tease and embarrass you!" Brittany justified, still laughing.

"Ugh, you suck! And to think I was calling to congratulate you about your new video clip. Everyone is going nuts over your choreography."

"Thanks, but it was the studio's choreography not just mine. Both me and Mike contributed equally." Brittany stated modestly.

"I know. I'm just proud of my big sis. And I make sure to rub it in the faces of all the losers around here who ever dared to doubt you." Hailey said smugly.

"Well, thanks." Brittany replied bashfully.

"So anyway, what's up? You aren't usually that disappointed to hear from me." Hailey questioned.

"Shut up. You know I love talking to you. I was just expecting, or hoping more like, that it was someone else calling." Brittany explained.

"What!? Have you finally met someone!? When!? What are they like!? Why do I know nothing about this!?" Hailey exclaimed.

"Calm down Hailey-Bug. We only met on Saturday." Brittany tried to calm her little sister.

"Fine. But I demand to know everything now." Hailey's pout could be heard through the phone and she was so distracted by Brittany's news she didn't even complain about the nickname.

"Well…" Brittany said hesitantly. Even though she had no issues with being attracted to a woman she wasn't quite sure how her family would react to that. Her sister had always been supportive of her though so she decided to take a chance and tell her. "Her name is Santana. She is a friend of Tina's from college and as I said we met on Saturday night at Mike's birthday party." Brittany rushed out.

"OK…" Hailey dragged out the word and paused, waiting for Brittany to continue.

Hearing her sister pause Brittany started to freak out thinking that Hailey was freaking out because she was into a girl. Brittany's mind started to whirl with different scenarios and memories, feeling sure this would be just one more instance she couldn't communicate and connect with her family.

After a few seconds Hailey begun to get impatient. "Those aren't details Britt!" She snapped down the phone jolting Brittany out of her own mind. "A girl named Santana isn't really giving me much. I mean you didn't even give me a description of what she looks like and you can sense so much more from a person than just their physical appearance!"

Brittany breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled while trying to calm down her racing heart and relieve all the tension that had built up in her. "Sorry, I got distracted." She tried to excuse her reaction to her sister. "Well, she's beautiful. Long dark hair, big brown eyes and smooth caramel skin. She has the cutest dimples when she smiles and her aura is rainbow coloured. She sounds like a panther when we touch and her voice is deep reds and purples. She is super smart and seems a bit shy. Like, we spent all night on the roof together but she somehow managed to keep me talking most of the time and she hardly told me anything about herself. But she promised we will meet up again and I'm totally gonna get her to do all the talking. And I texted her last night and we talked for a bit and she was supposed to contact me as soon as she was free today but she still hasn't." Brittany finished off her ramble with a pout but before she could think too much about Santana still not contacting her she heard Hailey laughing on the other end of the line.

"Now that's more like it!" Hailey crowed. "She sounds hot." She said with a smirk.

"It's not just 'cause she's hot! You know I'm not like that. She's just special. I saw colours just by hearing Mike say her name before I even met her. And she has the brightest rainbow aura. I have never, ever met anyone with a whole rainbow!" Brittany explained again.

"Well you sure make her sound special." Hailey said. "As long as she treats you right and you are happy, then it's all good with me. If she hurts you though she will have me to deal with!" She tried to sound tough and protective.

Brittany just laughed. "Easy there Bug. I'm not sure if we even classify as friends yet. I mean we've only really spoken a couple of times." She tried not to sound too optimistic that they would eventually be more than friends.

"Please! You are totally at least smitten with this girl already. I have never heard you so excited about someone except when you used to talk about your imaginary 'special person' that you have been waiting for since forever. It seems pretty likely that person is this Santana person. Plus you may act like very little bothers you but I can tell things hurt you much more than you let on. So if she ever does anything to hurt you, I repeat, she will have ME to deal with!" Hailey practically growled that last part.

"Whatever you say Hailey-Bug, whatever you say." Brittany laughed again.

"Stop calling me that!" Hailey shrieked again causing Brittany to laugh harder.

"Never!" Brittany stated. "Anyway, I'm just about to leave the studio and go home. It's been a long day." She continued.

"Whatever. I don't want to talk to you any more anyway." Hailey replied petulantly.

"Love you sis! Give my love to mom and dad as well and we'll talk soon." Brittany said cheerfully as she headed to the studio exit.

"We better. I need to know how things with this Santana girl go," Hailey said. She took a beat and then rushed out "Ok, love you, bye bye." and hung up the phone.

Brittany took the phone away from her ear and looked at her sister's photo on her screen before it faded and she chuckled affectionately. Hailey has been ending phone calls with her like that ever since she could remember.

* * *

><p>Just as Brittany had finished locking up the studio she spotted Tina unlocking the side entrance to the building that provided access to a stairway that led directly to her upstairs apartment.<p>

"Hey! You done for the day?" Tina greeted her when Brittany approached her.

"Yeah, I just locked up. How 'bout you? You only now finished from college?" Brittany asked.

"Ugh, yeah. Today has been a complete pain. Thankfully I had some experiments that could keep overnight so I got to leave. San is still working on hers." Tina replied.

"Oh, that sucks." Brittany said with a pout.

"Yeah. She told me that you talked last night." Tina admitted with a smile. "She also said that she would text you tonight when she is finally done so she can give you her undivided attention."

"Really!?" Brittany asked with a beaming smile.

"Yes, really. It might be a bit late but she will." Tina confirmed.

Brittany forgot about all her exhaustion from her busy day. She felt like jumping up and down in excitement like a giddy five year old. Seeing her friend's reaction Tina laughed.

"Well I better make my way up before I pass out, here on the doorstep." Tina said with a chuckle. "Hopefully Mike has cooked something or at least ordered in 'cause I'm starving!" she continued.

"Well he has been finished in the studio for over an hour now so he better have something organised." Brittany said with a chuckle of her own. "See you later." She said giving Tina a hug before turning to head to the subway to finally go home.

"See ya, Britt." Tina said with a little wave as she headed up the stairs.

* * *

><p>As soon as Brittany got home she sprawled exhaustedly on the couch. She could hear someone puttering around in the kitchen and assumed it must be Kurt since Rachel would probably stay at the theatre rehearsing until late now that opening night was fast approaching. Her guess was confirmed when Kurt walked into the living room sipping on a fresh smoothie.<p>

"Hey, Britt. Long day?" He greeted her when he spotted her lounging on the couch.

"Hmm." Brittany just hummed in the affirmative, lifting her legs for Kurt to sit down with her while she reached for the smoothie in his hands. She took a sip, resettled her legs in his lap and gave him back his smoothie.

Kurt patted her shins and turned on the TV to some mindless trashy reality show. They both watched in complete silence for a while until Brittany checked her phone and sighed.

"What's up, buttercup?" Kurt asked her with a smile not really taking his attention away from the TV.

"Nothing. Just waiting for a message." Brittany mumbled.

"Ohh, from whom?" Kurt questioned turning his body towards her to give her his full attention.

"Santana is supposed to contact me when she is done at college." Brittany replied.

"You guys are already texting? I thought you said you forgot to ask for her number." He said with a bit of surprise.

"I got it from Tina last night. We talked for a bit but we both had busy days today so we didn't talk for long. She said she will message me when she is done for the day but Tina said she will probably be stuck in the lab until late." Brittany explained.

"Well you'll just have to be a bit more patient. From what I understand from Tina, Santana is very passionate about her research." Kurt said mildly.

"I know." Brittany said with a huff. "I don't blame her or want to be the centre of her attention or anything. I'm just curious about her. It's all so new and exciting." She continued.

Kurt chuckled and patted her shins again. "Patience, grasshopper." He said in a silly voice making Brittany giggle. "You have plenty of time to really get to know each other. Just don't pressure her and let things evolve naturally." Kurt tried to reassure her.

"Yes, master!" Brittany replied using her own funny voice and they both cracked up laughing.

* * *

><p>It was after 8pm by the time Rachel got home from the theatre and brought take-out for all of them to eat. They had just finished and were watching a musical that Rachel and Kurt had forced Brittany to watch a million times before. She liked musicals, don't get her wrong, but there are only so many times you can watch the same ones over and over again. Brittany was just dozing off, spread out on a mound of pillows and blankets on the floor, when her phone chimed by her head where she had placed it. Her roommates shushed her as she groaned and searched around blindly for it. As soon as she found it and checked her screen she bolted upright startling Rachel and Kurt. She rushed out an apology and a goodnight and was slamming her bedroom door before her roommates could even really comprehend what was happening. They stared blankly at her shut door for a few seconds before their attention was distracted by the action on the TV screen and they were soon engrossed in the musical fight scene forgetting Brittany's strange behaviour.<p>

Once safely alone in her bedroom Brittany leaned back against her closed door letting out a deep breath to steady her racing heart and smiled at Santana's name under the '1 new message' notification on her phone screen. Taking another deep breath she opened the message and her small smile bloomed into a full-blown grin.

"Sorry for the really late message. I literally just got into my apartment. It's been a really long day and I wanted to give you the full attention you deserve when I finally messaged you. x Santana"

"No worries. I understand busy days. I'm glad you messaged me. If you are tired we can talk some other time. xx" Brittany sent back with a small frown on her face. She really wanted to talk to Santana but if she was tired she didn't want to drag out her long day even further. She moved to her desk chair and started spinning in lazy circles waiting for a reply. She didn't have to wait for long.

"I'm good. I still have to eat something and talking to you seems like the perfect way to end a busy and stressful day. =)"

Brittany stopped spinning and smiled.

"I'm glad. Hopefully I can be a good de-stressor. What are you gonna eat?" She quickly sent her message and decided to settle in for the night in her bed for what would hopefully turn into a nice little chat.

"It's too late to bother with cooking so I'm just gonna settle for a quick sandwich. How was your day?" Santana asked.

"Busy, like most Mondays. But I have two of my favourite classes so it's not too was your day so stressful?" Brittany replied.

"Nice. What are your favourite classes? And I was just having trouble with this line of experiments. I don't want to bore you with my geeky science stuff." Brittany pouted slightly at Santana's reply.

"I love all my classes but my favourites are the Seniors Jazzercise class and my Intro to Dance for 5-8 year olds. You wouldn't bore me! I might not understand it all 'cause you and Tina are super smart but I'm sure it's interesting." She hoped her message would convince Santana that she definitely didn't think her being smart and into her research project was boring.

"You like the two extremes huh? :P People just tend to look at me like I am crazy when I get passionate talking about my project. The actual details of what I'm working on right now really are boring but have to be done."

"They are the two ends of the spectrum yeah but they each have their own charms. And passion about anything is admirable and never crazy even if others don't understand it. What is your project actually on?" Brittany really did want to know all about Santana so asking about her project made sense.

"So what is it you like about each class? And that's a good way to look at things. But science still isn't really the sexiest or most interesting thing to be passionate about to most people. I'm researching ALD with a particular interest in screening and especially gene therapy treatments. It's a bit too long to try and explain through text but if you are actually interested maybe I can explain it a bit more when we next meet up. If you actually don't care and don't really wanna know I won't be offended or anything. Not the most cheerful or interesting subject, as I said. =)"

Brittany found Santana's self-consciousness about her science interests endearing. It was obviously something she really cared about and as such had Brittany interested in learning more. She was tempted to google it but decided she would probably understand better if Santana explained it rather than trying to read all those undoubtedly big and sciencey words. She also didn't miss Santana implying they would be meeting up in person again. She hoped it would be sooner rather than later. She started typing out her reply.

"Well the little kiddies are just so innocent and energetic and open to adventure, while the seniors are so inspiring and full of funny stories. Maybe you have been talking to the wrong people. 'Cause smart and passionate is definitely sexy in my book. ;P I really am interested in learning more about your research and I am absolutely holding you to explaining more when we meet up again. Now we just have to arrange for that to happen!" Brittany bit her lip as she sent the message hoping her light flirting would be returned. Thankfully Santana's reply didn't take long so hopefully she at least didn't freak her out.

"Maybe I've found the right person to talk to now then. And that's lucky 'cause passionate and talented dancers are sexy in my book. =p Unfortunately the rest of my week looks like it will be much of the same of today. =( But I will probably be free this weekend, if you want to meet up for like coffee or something."

Brittany smiled at the message and did a little happy dance while in bed. Before she got a chance to reply she received a new message and chuckled as she read it.

"I mean if you are free. I didn't mean to just assume that you wouldn't have any plans or something better to do on a weekend. Or even that you really wanted to meet up so soon or at all really. It was just a suggestion. It's totally up to you!"

"_You are too adorable."_ Brittany thought as she rushed to type out a reply before Santana could completely freak out.

"I'm totally free and can think of nothing I would rather do than get a coffee or something with you. " she sent the message with a cheeky grin.

"Cool. Great. Well, whenever is best for you. I don't have a problem. You can even pick the place." Was Santana's still nervous reply.

"We will arrange the details later in the week. That way it's guaranteed we will have to talk again at least once before then." Brittany replied with more confidence now that she knew Santana definitely wanted to meet up with her again.

Unfortunately it was getting late and since they both had full days again tomorrow they decided they had better call it a night soon after that. Brittany had Santana promise to message her whenever she was free and wanted to since she had the more demanding schedule of the two.

Brittany fell asleep with a big smile on her face and dreamt all night of panthers slinking and prowling over rainbows with red and purple streaming behind them.


End file.
